Identity
by yutamiyu
Summary: Inuyasha helps Kagome struggle with a dire crisis...


// = flashbacks  
= thoughts  
{ } = recovered memories  
  
  
Identity: An Inu Yasha Fanfic  
By yutamiyu  
  
  
  
DISCLAIMER: I do not own Inuyasha. Nor do I own the line "I'M me! Not this FAKERY!" That one came from Fushigi Yuugi. But I liked the idea of Inuyasha saying it. ^_^  
  
  
  
  
"...they?"  
  
Kagome slowly awoke from the darkness to a voice she did not recognize. When her sight finally stopped blurring--how long had she been out?--she realized that she did not recognize the owner of the voice either. The man who was interrogating her was a man she could not recall having ever seen before. He was an older man--perhaps it was a half a century of experience was what showed as his brow creased with what appeared to be growing desperation.  
  
"Where are they?" the man repeated.  
  
Kagome shifted--and realized that her wrists bound her to a wall. What a horrid way to be imprisoned! She also realized that her mouth was extremely dry. How long EXACTLY had she been unconscious? Several hours, at least. The last event prior to this that she could recall was sitting by a river with Shippo...  
  
"Shippo!" she managed to cry hoarsely.  
  
The man looked taken back. "That retched kitsune? I had that annoyance destroyed." The man grinned, and offered her a cup of water. "Thirsty?"  
  
Kagome naturally lunged for the sweet drink, forgetting about the cuffs upon her wrists that were linked to the massive stone wall behind her. The force from her physical exertion yanked her back into the wall, causing dust on the floor to rise around her in a rather large cloud.  
  
The man's hand emerged from the cloud of dust, bearing the cup. He held it to her lips. "Drink," he pressed. "It's not poisoned. You're no good to me dead, anyway. Here. I'll drink some myself." The man did, indeed, drink a small amount of the liquid, then brought it back to Kagome's mouth. She hesitated, and finally accepted the water.  
  
Kagome took a few sips and stopped. Something was not right. She shrugged her lips off the cup and looked into the eyes of the man before her. "Where's Shippo?"  
  
"I told you. I had him killed. That kitsune was of no use to me. You, on the other hand--"  
  
"Then why do I detect the aura of a kitsune?" she shot back.  
  
The man said nothing, but rather, grinned. He reached behind him and brought a medium sized leather stitched pouch to Kagome's attention. He opened the pouch and held fast to its contents, but did not remove his hand from the bag.  
  
Kagome's eyes did her talking at that point-show me what's in the bag/what is it/is it for me/is it yours/did you find it or receive it. However, none of Kagome's inquiries quite fit in to what he pulled out of the bag.  
  
A head. No, worse.  
  
A familiar head.  
  
Oh, Shippo, Kagome thought weakly.  
  
The man glanced into Kagome's eyes. "Now, to business," he sneered, putting away the head. "You'll tell me everything I want to know, or I just might kill your beloved Inu Yasha as well."  
  
The man turned just as a door behind him opened, sending more light into the room. Kagome squinted her eyes, slowly getting used to the new amount of light. Another man-cloaked in black and much more largely built than the first-entered, grasping a limp form that he threw onto the floor before her.  
  
Inu Yasha.  
  
"NO!" Kagome screamed, entering into hysterics from not being able to touch him when he needed her help. Though extremely frustrated and anxious, she was somehow able to analyze the half demon's situation. There was a rather large open gash on his forehead that was currently leaking blood-Kagome retched inwardly at the sight. Inu Yasha was also sporting his usual cuts and bruises that healed before the day was out; however, Inu Yasha was unconscious, and could not heal. This made the threat of death very real for him.  
  
Kagome anxiously watched him for several minutes, looking for some sort of indication of life; she finally found it when his lips fell open enough to show her that the weakened Inu Yasha was making a conscious effort to breathe. She smiled in relief.  
  
Inu Yasha slowly opened his eyes-and met Kagome's gaze. "Why...the tears?" he asked softly.  
  
Kagome tried to laugh, remembering the last time he had asked her that--in a small alcove in a temple inhabited by a spider demon taking on the form of an old monk. "I thought you might be gone," she said, repeating the familiar line.  
  
Inu Yasha, however, deviated from the script. "Kagome...I'm sorry...I couldn't protect you. Don't...forget me..." he managed, before coughing up blood-one of his injuries had apparently been more life threatening to his internal structures than she had first thought.  
  
She gasped softly. "What do you mean? We'll be okay," she said, wishing she could swipe at the tears falling from her eyes. "You'll see. This will all be over soon..."  
  
Inu Yasha managed a weak smile. "Yes...over soon..." He paused. "The shards...promise me you'll retrieve the rest..."  
  
Kagome nodded mutely.  
  
And Inu Yasha, the mighty half demon, stirred no more.  
  
Kagome bit her lip, but the sorrow from within her would not cease, and made it known by means of heavy sobs. Kagome's eyes remained transfixed on her once companion now lying dead before her.  
  
The heavily built man who had brought Inu Yasha suddenly leaned in towards the other man, and whispered something into his ear.  
  
The man looked shocked. "Really?" he questioned, keeping his voice quiet. "Well, then. This is not good for me at all," he murmured. He looked at Kagome, who was still weeping over Inu Yasha's corpse. Well, fancy that, he thought, and ordered his assistant to unlock Kagome from the shackles. As he expected, she did not try to flee through the open door; she kneeled in front of the half demon and took him in her arms, burying her face in his silver hair.  
  
Kagome froze. SILVER hair? Her head shot up quickly and searched about the room for a window. The one she finally found was small, but large enough to confirm her suspicion: the moon was new. Which meant that the Inu Yasha she now held...  
  
...was not HER Inu Yasha.  
  
She glared at the man. "What is this all about?" she demanded.  
  
The man's eyes widened in fear. He'd thought the kitsune head and half demon to be flawless. Yet she saw through them. Had he been found out? Impossible. Not even the strongest demons could figure him out, much less one mortal girl. He sighed in defeat. "I'm sorry it had to come to this, girl." And with a wave of his arms the Inu Yasha she held vanished, as did the bag with the kitsune head. The man's assistant walked up to her, and forced some sort of pill into her mouth. Kagome began to black out.  
  
"Sleep," the man said, "and forget everything."  
  
The darkness claimed Kagome once again.  
  
  
  
//The scenery was gorgeous and the river full of life. Shippo continued to lead a blindfolded Kagome towards it, careful to clear the path before him so that she would not trip over anything on her way down to the river.  
  
"Shippo," Kagome giggled, "what's this all about?"  
  
The kitsune grinned. "You'll see, Kagome."  
  
Shippo led her through more twists and turns until he finally reached the clearing, and stopped. Kagome reached up and removed the blindfold--and gasped at the scenery. The field that the kitsune had led her to was gorgeous--the wind blew gently over the flowers and tall grass that grew there. She chuckled. Shippo, being small, could easily get lost. She saw a small area set up near the river and walked towards it--on closer examination she realized that the kitsune had set up a picnic for them.  
  
"Shippo!" she exclaimed in delight. "This is wonderful!"//  
  
  
Shippo rushed through the forest, keeping sharp eyes and ears peeled. "Kagome!" he cried frantically. "Kagome!! Where are you?"  
  
The forest produced only the echoes of Shippo's cries. The kitsune collapsed onto a large tree stump. His paws ached. Oh, to be able to fly like Inu Yasha...  
  
He could transform. Shippo was well aware of that. But if he changed into a flying creature it would have to have wings. He was too young and his powers too immature to make alterations to a basic shape. If he had wings that would be able to carry him long distances effortlessly in a short period of time, they would have to be large. And large wings in this forest would mean that he would have to fly above the treetops. And his target would be much more difficult to spy from that altitude. No, he would have to do with what he had. And what he had were his tiny paws.  
  
Shippo decided that--as much as he would hate himself for it later--he needed to indulge in a quick nap. His little paws would take him no further until they got some time off, and he needed to recharge. Surely Inu Yasha will find her, he thought before dozing off.  
  
  
  
Inu Yasha rushed through another part of the enormous forest, far away from Shippo's area. His ability to fly was slowed down considerably as he had his keen demon senses of hearing, sight, and smell working overtime.  
  
Stupid girl, he thought. Getting yourself lost when you knew I couldn't protect you...  
  
He berated himself. Forgive me...if I hadn't been so cruel to you... "Kagome!" he yelled, listening for some sort of response. He slowed his flight down and began walking, putting even more concentration into his demon senses. He HAD to find her...  
  
  
//Kagome shifted nervously as she walked. "Inu Yasha?"  
  
He turned his head to stare at her. "What?" he asked, before putting his eyes front once again.  
  
She looked down at the trail in front of her. "I'm sorry..." she managed.  
  
The half demon stopped walking, and turned around completely. "What?"  
  
"I'm sorry," she repeated softly.  
  
Inu Yasha was baffled. What would she be sorry for? He asked her as much.  
  
"For...for risking your life," she said finally. "Back at the spider temple."  
  
Inu Yasha scoffed. "Forget it."  
  
Kagome was silent, then turned her back to him. "I...I don't WANT to..." she stammered. "I don't WANT to forget about it."  
  
Inu Yasha walked up to her. "Why not?" he finally asked.  
  
Kagome could feel the heat of his body behind hers, and momentarily slipped her eyes shut, absorbing the feeling. She took a large breath. "You...I...I almost got you killed, Inu Yasha." She opened her eyes once more.  
  
"But you didn't." His mouth was right by her; she could feel his warm breath tickle her neck. She shivered.   
  
"But even so," she managed, stepping away from him, "you could have been killed!"  
  
"But I WASN'T!" he retorted, chiding himself for not having better words for his feeble attempt at ending their argument. "So just forget about it. It's over and done with, and we're both okay."  
  
Kagome brought her head up, but still did not turn around to face him. "Are we?" she asked. A pause. "Whenever I see you hurt during a fight...I always wonder what would happen to me if you were to ever lose..."  
  
Inu Yasha scoffed again. "You'd probably die."  
  
Kagome was silent again. Finally, she turned to face him, and their eyes locked. Inu Yasha saw the tears building in her eyes that stubbornly refused to fall. That sight somehow frightened him more than any demon ever had, and, he suspected, than any demon ever would.  
  
Kagome slowly brought one trembling hand to the front of the cloth he wore to protect his chest, and hesitantly moved it away. She gently ran two fingers from her other hand over the scar from the spider-monk's bite that had not yet gotten a chance to heal completely. "...My fault..." he heard her whisper.  
  
He shook his head, trying to remember how to breathe. Kagome's touch--even as lightly as this--set his skin on fire, and the fact that they were both alone didn't help matters much. Where was Myouga?  
  
Did he even CARE about Myouga right now?  
  
Inu Yasha finally managed to speak. "My stupidity," he countered softly.  
  
"But if I hadn't left the shards..."  
  
"There were still some up there anyway," he reminded her.  
  
Kagome fell silent once again. Inu Yasha felt her slowly move her hands to cover both sides of his chest, and he felt his stomach tighten and a low hum settle in. Oh gods... He brought his hands up to clasp hers, and move them towards each other; both pairs of hands met in the middle-over his heart. Inu Yasha stared at her. "Kagome..." he started.  
  
She looked up and met his gaze. He locked her there.  
  
"It's my fault," he continued. "You've put all your trust in me. Time after time, you've trusted me with your life. You've put trust in your faith that I would always protect you when you needed protecting, and that I would always rescue you when you needed to be rescued. You really have no idea how much that means to me." He paused, searching for the right words. "All that trust...and yet I thought that I couldn't--no, SHOULDN'T--give you mine. So I didn't tell you about my monthly transformation. Even now, I wish I had. But you can't change what's already happened, can you?" He paused again. "If I had told you...we wouldn't have gone through that entire ordeal. And you STILL would have nothing to apologize for. It's not your fault."  
  
Inu Yasha shifted his positioning so that both of Kagome's hands were held fast in one of his, and his other hand lightly stroked her long dark hair. His voice dropped in both volume and tone. "So just forget about it, okay?"  
  
Kagome nodded silently, her eyes not moving from his. She realized that Inu Yasha's eyes were asking--begging?--her for something; a question he could not-WOULD not-put into words. She nodded again, smiling.  
  
Inu Yasha slowly brought his head down until their foreheads touched. "Never your fault..." he said softly, before closing his eyes and claiming her lips gently with his own. Kagome's eyes widened in shock, then slipped shut as she leaned into the kiss--returning it, pleading for more. She moaned into his throat quietly, sending delicious shivers down Inu Yasha's spine.  
  
In reality, the kiss lasted for several seconds. For Kagome and Inu Yasha, it lasted for eons. It seemed as though time had stopped only for them, and this was their stolen moment. No one could touch it, nor touch them, as long as they were together. They remained forever frozen in time...//  
  
  
Inu Yasha stopped walking and fell to his knees on the forest floor. He bent his head and allowed his tears to fall to the dirt under him.  
  
"Kagome..."  
  
  
  
"You say that the youkai is looking for her?" Kenji Michiyuki asked.  
  
His assistant Shinya Hirosho nodded. "What do you intend to do about the girl?" he inquired, jerking a thumb towards the figure approaching them from the distance.  
  
Michiyuki merely shook his head and brought a finger to his lips to shush his assistant before standing to greet the girl. "Ah, Suzaka, darling," he said, kissing her cheek.  
  
Suzaka smiled. "Hello, father," she said, before noticing Hirosho and bowing greetings. "Mr. Hirosho."  
  
Hirosho bowed his head in acknowledgment.  
  
Michiyuki took the tray from Suzaka's hands. "Thank you for my medicinal tea, darling. Would you kindly go back inside and get Mr. Hirosho his jacket? He is leaving shortly."  
  
Suzaka smiled and nodded before turning heel and leaving.  
  
When she was far enough away from their meeting place, Hirosho rose to join his friend. "You know," he muttered, "it's dangerous to keep her alive. That youkai will most likely come looking for her."  
  
Michiyuki's gaze was still on his departing daughter, but hearing his associate's words made his gaze break as he scoffed. "And what do you suggest, Shinya?" he asked. "Killing her? Don't you think that youkai--Inu Yasha, you said?--would be slightly MORE pissed off to find the woman he was searching for dead?" He paused in reflection. "Besides, right now he's our only hope now to acquire the rest of the shards of the Shikon Jewel. And Suzaka-" he waved at the returning girl "-can be our trump card if we play our hands right."  
  
  
  
Shippo awoke to something warm and crackling. Fire? He hadn't built a fire before sleeping...he opened his eyes to find himself in Kaede's hut. The kitsune sat up and saw Inu Yasha.  
  
"Where's Kagome?" he asked sleepily.  
  
Inu Yasha averted his gaze from the kitsune. "I...I couldn't find her," he finally said.  
  
Shippo was puzzled. Inu Yasha had not rescued Kagome? How was this possible? He looked more closely at the half demon. Were those TEARS he saw...?  
  
Kaede entered the hut, bringing food for the two youkai. Shippo eagerly grabbed and ate the food she offered him; however, Inu Yasha merely used a claw to poke at his meal.  
  
Kaede frowned. "Troubled, Inu Yasha?"  
  
He sighed, becoming more agitated. "Of COURSE I am!" he huffed. "Kagome's out lost and alone somewhere...perhaps freezing and starving, or maybe she's been kidnapped and killed...and here I am in front of a warm fire eating dinner with familiar people!" Inu Yasha's hand swung out in frustration and hit the tea brewing above the fire off of its stand, sending its contents spilling onto the floor over the remains of Shippo's dinner. "It's aggravating that I don't know where she is so that I can help her!" he exclaimed.  
  
Shippo inched his way towards Inu Yasha's dinner plate and picked up the half demon's bread roll, watching to see if Inu Yasha was watching. He was. Inu Yasha sighed. "Go ahead, Shippo...I'm not hungry." He turned to exit the hut.  
  
"Where are you going?" Kaede asked, alarmed.  
  
Inu Yasha turned back around to stare at them, clenching a fist. "I'm sure as hell not going to sit around HERE while Kagome's out THERE! I am going to find her, old woman." He paused, and looked downward. "I promised her I always would..." he added quietly.  
  
Kaede stood from tending the fire. "Be that as it may, you need rest, Inu Yasha. Even half demons need rest. And food. You will soon run out of energy otherwise, and Kagome will be lost forever because you could not keep up with yourself. At least stay the night. Then go."  
  
Inu Yasha thought about the woman's plea for quite some time, before finally growling in frustration and quickly leaving the hut.  
  
  
  
Inu Yasha had not in his wildest dreams suspected that there would be someone waiting for him outside of his hut.  
  
"I assume I have the honor of meeting the halfling youkai Inu Yasha?" the man inquired, and bowed. "I am known as Shinya Hirosho. I work for a very powerful man known as Kenji Michiyuki. He has requested your audience about a certain matter that is very close to you."  
  
Inu Yasha's heart skipped. "Kagome?"  
  
The man's masked expression remained perfectly in place. "I know of no such name."  
  
Inu Yasha waved his hand. "Then I have no business with you, human. Good night." He proceeded on his way.  
  
The man grinned. "Mr. Michiyuki DOES have many women at his estate, being a woman trafficker and all...maybe your--Kagome, was it?--is living with HIM."  
  
That did it. Inu Yasha froze dead in his tracks, and with fists clenched tightly, he turned around to face Hirosho. "Where is this estate?" he asked through gritted teeth.  
  
Hirosho handed Inu Yasha a crude map. "Come midday tomorrow. And bring any Shikon shards that you may have with you. It will prove...beneficial." He grinned slyly at his last remark before turning and walking back towards the forest.  
  
"Lord Inu Yasha!" a tiny voice called.  
  
Inu Yasha looked around for his servant Myouga. However, he did not spy the youkai flea.  
  
"Lord Inu Yasha!!" Myouga cried a final time, hopping up Inu Yasha's body to his resting-place on the demon's shoulder. The tiny flea was exhausted from his long journey, and took a large drink from a choice neck vein.  
  
Inu Yasha plucked the flea from his neck. "Did you find her?" he asked, and shook the flea. "Well?!"  
  
Myouga nodded, although dizzy from his being shaken. "I did. She's some distance from here m'lord. A large estate. By name of...Michiyuki, I believe."  
  
"Kenji Michiyuki?"  
  
The flea nodded. "That was it. Kenji Michiyuki. Nasty fellow..."  
  
Inu Yasha nodded, ignoring his servant. He knew where Kagome was. She was alive. But not out of danger yet. "What's happened to her?" he finally asked.  
  
"I do not know, lord. All I know is what she told me."  
  
"You talked to her? When?"  
  
"When I accompanied her to the well. Before IT happened."  
  
"The kidnapping, you mean?" Inu Yasha paused in thought. "What did she say?"  
  
"She said that she was sorry she left you." Myouga paused. "Is something going on between you two, m'lord?"  
  
Inu Yasha squeezed the flea between his two fingers as an answer. "I'm going to sleep," he finally said, moving towards his hut and tossing Myouga onto a nearby leaf. "Go sleep with Shippo tonight. I want to be left alone." And with those words, Inu Yasha entered self-isolation.  
  
  
  
Inu Yasha pulled off a small pendant that he wore around his neck and stared at it, caressing its face lightly with one finger.  
  
  
//"Here," Kagome said, smiling and holding out her hands. "I want you to have this."  
  
Inu Yasha glared at her closed fists. "MORE trash for me to carry?" he remarked. "I'm having a difficult enough time carrying this BAG of yours as it is."  
  
Kagome's smile quickly turned to a saddened pout. "I brought it from home...especially for you. I guess...I don't know...I guess I thought that you might need it. Or even appreciate it. But I guess not..."  
  
Inu Yasha chided himself. She had brought him a GIFT. "What is it?" he finally asked.  
  
Kagome's face lit up with a renewed sense of hope. She dropped the pendant into his opened hands. "It's a protection amulet," she said. "Made from crystal. It's supposed to help guard you from harm..." She chuckled. "...Or at least that's what my grandfather says."  
  
The youkai glared at her. "Is this another one of your binding spells, girl?" he asked suspiciously.  
  
Kagome blinked in confusion.  
  
Inu Yasha sighed. "All right then," he said defeatedly, and slipped the pendant around his neck. The crystal fell onto his chest and hung there. It felt cool against his bare skin.  
  
He turned to Kagome. "Thank you," he finally said. He rarely said those two words...and it felt strange and unusual to say them. He then realized that he had so much to thank her for.  
  
...Like getting in the way all the time...  
  
Kagome smiled. "You're welcome!" she replied cheerily.//  
  
  
Inu Yasha scratched some dried blood off of the crystal with one of his claws. The crystal was fairly worse for wear considering its age--Kagome had given it to him only two months prior to her disappearance. What once was a newly polished and transparent crystal was now a crystal caked with dried blood and mud and numerous scratches and chips. Still, he liked thinking that it brought him more protection.  
  
He should have given it to her when she decided to leave on her own.  
  
Inu Yasha grimaced at his perfect hindsight, and put the crystal back around his neck. It gave him a sense of security; a sort of aura that proclaimed "Kagome" surrounded him.  
  
The youkai slipped into his bed, and allowed fatigue to overpower him, knowing that tonight, only good dreams would come to him. Dreams of Kagome and him together like it used to be.  
  
She was alive.  
  
  
  
"We've obtained possession of seven shards, sir," Hirosho reported to the distracted Michiyuki. "Sir," he finally tried again, raising the volume of his voice.  
  
Michiyuki pulled himself out of his thoughts. "Hmm?"  
  
"We've obtained seven shards of the Shikon Jewel."  
  
Michiyuki diverted his attention from the koi fish that he was feeding and turned to his associate. "Already? What about that bastard halfling Inu Yasha?"  
  
"I've spoken with him. He shall arrive here at midday tomorrow."  
  
Michiyuki grinned evilly and took a pebble from the walk. "We'll have to show him a good time, then, won't we?" he said, tossing the pebble into the water and taking pleasure in watching the fish scramble in fear.  
  
  
  
"Shippo, I said NO!"  
  
The kitsune frowned. "But I want to rescue Kagome TOO!"  
  
Inu Yasha sighed. "Three people escaping is too many to go unnoticed. We may get caught, and I don't want to risk it."  
  
Shippo protested. "I can transform!"  
  
Inu Yasha pondered the fact for a moment. "Transform into a flea," he finally said.  
  
Shippo did as much.  
  
"No," Inu Yasha said, heading out of his hut with his supplies neatly packed into a smaller back pack that Kagome had brought him some time ago.  
  
The kitsune-flea hopped behind Inu Yasha furiously. "Why not?!" he demanded.  
  
"Because fleas aren't two feet tall!" he called over his shoulder.  
  
Shippo reverted to his true form and watched the departing youkai. "That's not fair!" he yelled, readying himself to follow.  
  
A hand fell onto Shippo's shoulder, and Shippo looked upon the familiar face of the Lady Kaede, who was shaking her head at the kitsune slowly.  
  
"Let him go," she said. "This is something he needs to do alone. You'll grow to understand."  
  
Shippo pouted, crossing his arms stubbornly. "I'm going to be BORED!"  
  
Kaede smiled and picked up the kitsune. "You can help me out today."  
  
Shippo merely nodded in defeat, gazing longingly at the path that Inu Yasha had taken.  
  
  
  
//"Inu Yasha, I'll be FINE. I just have to go get some books at home. The well's not far from here. I'll be FINE. Really. I'll meet you at the village about midday tomorrow."  
  
Inu Yasha scowled. I really wish you wouldn't, Kagome. You KNOW I can't protect you like...THIS..." He fingered his black hair. "So I can't walk you to the well."  
  
"Inu Yasha, I'll be FINE. So I'll see you tomorrow?"  
  
He growled in defeat. What could he do?  
  
"Good then. I'll see you tomorrow."  
  
"You ALWAYS do this," he muttered darkly.  
  
Kagome was taken back. "Excuse me?"  
  
"You ALWAYS do things like this. You're supposed to stay HERE, dammit! You can't just keep jumping through the well whenever you please!"  
  
Kagome could feel the heat of her anger rise to her cheeks. "I have a LIFE, Inu Yasha!" she thrashed back. "My SOLE REASON FOR EXISTING is not for finding your Shikon jewel!"  
  
Inu Yasha turned his back to her. "Well," he scoffed, "it SHOULD be."  
  
Kagome's eyes started to tear up a bit. Finally, she spoke. "I thought...I thought you were different now...that WE were different...together..." She turned and fled. "You JERK!" she yelled behind her while sprinting towards the well.  
  
Inu Yasha spun around and stared at her fleeting figure. "Shit!" he yelled, punching the tree next to him before belatedly realizing that it HURT in his human form.//  
  
  
  
Shippo sat in Kaede's hut, still bemoaning the fact that he wasn't out rescuing Kagome. He drew small circles on the floor using one of his claws.  
  
"I'm bored," he complained.  
  
Kaede looked up from the work she was doing. "Shippo, you can't AFFORD to be. You have the most important job--you're protecting the Shikon in Inu Yasha's stead."  
  
Shippo removed the pouch from its place at his hip and spun it by its drawstring. "...It's still here," he said monotonously.  
  
Kaede smiled. "That's good news, then."  
  
Shippo reattached the leather pouch and scuttled over to Kaede, who had returned to her other work. "Uhm..."  
  
"What is it, Shippo?" she asked, not looking up from what she was doing.  
  
"Well...I was...curious. If what we have of the Shikon has already fused, then how are we going to attach future shards?"  
  
"I don't know, Shippo. Maybe the shards will connect by themselves."  
  
"Why didn't Inu Yasha take the Shikon with him?"  
  
"You know how Inu Yasha gets when an enemy gains possession of one SHARD of the Shikon, much less a large part of it."  
  
Shippo was silent. Finally, a soft "Will Kagome be all right?" emerged from his lips.  
  
Kaede turned to look at the kitsune. "I hope so."  
  
  
  
//The demon was small, and hungered for the power of the Shikon jewel. Already having one shard in its left front paw, the demon was able to sniff its way to more shards located at a small campsite...//  
  
  
//Inu Yasha continued to eat from his can of ramen. "Kagome...the food from your world is...well...GOOD!" he remarked, not for the first time.  
  
Kagome smiled as she opened a can of miso soup and stuck it onto a makeshift platform over their campfire. It seemed amazing to her now the things she had taken for granted before. Freshly-made foods, permanent shelter...  
  
...hot water...  
  
Kagome sighed. As much as it would anger Inu Yasha, she would have to go back soon. And not just for a hot bath. She was running low on provisions and (groan) schoolwork. She would tell him soon.  
  
Inu Yasha stood up, tossing his empty ramen container and chopsticks aside. "I'll be right back," he announced, and walked to a large area of bushes a short distance away to relieve himself.  
  
The demon hiding in the bushes saw this as an ideal opportunity to attack the mortal girl possessing the Shikon. He lunged from the bushes at Kagome.  
  
Kagome turned, feeling the presence of an enemy. Seeing the small demon flying towards her rapidly, she reacted by swatting it away.  
  
And screaming.  
  
"INU YASHA!"  
  
Inu Yasha, already walking back towards the campsite, broke into a run and soon appeared between two of the trees around them. He spotted the demon. "What the hell is THAT?" he questioned, poking a finger at it.  
  
"I don't know," Kagome replied swiftly, becoming agitated at Inu Yasha's apparent lack of action. "Just get rid of it!"  
  
Inu Yasha flexed his claws. "Sure thing. Nothing PLAIN old claws can't handle," he boasted, moving as the demon made another lunge for Kagome's face. "STRIKE!" he shouted, splitting the demon in half and hearing Kagome's accompanying scream.  
  
KAGOME'S scream?  
  
Inu Yasha quickly turned to find Kagome kneeling on the ground, hunched over, clutching the left side of her bleeding neck. Inu Yasha turned to look at the carcass of the demon. It was totally clean, save its own demon-colored blood. No mortal blood. Which meant...  
  
Inu Yasha sniffed at his own blood-covered claws, noticing that the blood on it had a mixed scent.  
  
...Which meant that Inu Yasha HIMSELF was responsible for Kagome's injury.  
  
He rushed to Kagome's side. "Shit..." he murmured, tearing his sleeve off to fashion a makeshift bandage. "Are you all right, Kagome?"  
  
Kagome looked up, dazed, and pushed away the bandage. "You struck me," she stated.  
  
Inu Yasha bowed his head. "I'm so sorry," he replied, and shook his head several times, entering self-denial. "I didn't mean to...I didn't know..." He slowly reached towards her, and, sensing no resistance, started to gently wipe the blood from her neck. Inu Yasha stared at the claw marks carefully. "Not too bad of a cut," he remarked, and cleared his throat in mock seriousness. "...Considering its source."  
  
Kagome chuckled slightly. Inu Yasha was glad that she could find some humor in the situation.  
  
Inu Yasha held her face in his hands and forced a smile through his mask of guilt. "Give it five or six weeks, tops. Probably less if we get to Kaede's medical herbs soon. And we probably will, considering my...transformation...is coming up in about two weeks. It'll be fine. This won't kill you...see, the blood's stopped already."  
  
Kagome leaned forward and gave him a light kiss on his nose. "I forgive you," she said, before standing up and walking to the dead demon. She stooped and picked up a Shikon shard from its remains.  
  
"Things are looking up," she said to Inu Yasha, flicking the shard at him.//  
  
  
  
Shinya Hirosho ushered in from outside a seemingly curious Inu Yasha. He laughed silently at the demon--it probably had never seen an estate so large before. Of course he would be in awe. Looking at every window, door, and piece of furniture...even the walls! The youkai truly was looking at every nook and cranny of the gigantic estate.  
  
"I trust your trip went safely?" he ventured.  
  
Inu Yasha answered passively with a wave of his hand. Let the fool trick himself into thinking that I'm curious. In all honesty, Inu Yasha was looking for another way out of the estate. Surely in one this large there was more than one exit through which he could take back--rescue, his mind chided, she's not PROPERTY--Kagome. A secret door, perhaps...?  
  
"Is that our guest, Mr. Hirosho?" a soft voice asked from atop a flight of stairs.  
  
Inu Yasha spun around and astonishingly watched the advancing figure walk towards him. His heart leapt into his throat and played a new song as he embraced HER. Embraced KAGOME.  
  
"I'm so glad you're okay..." was all he could manage. He felt he was going to cry. Yet somehow, he did not. Something was bothering him. Was it that she didn't reply to his statement? No...something else. Something was wrong. She wasn't hugging him back. That, and...she was...rigid? He let her go and peered into her eyes.   
  
"Who..." he said softly, "who...are you?"  
  
"I believe you've met my daughter," another voice projected from the stairway. "Now you may meet me. I am the lord of this estate. I am known as Kenji Michiyuki. I believe we have some matters to discuss." He finished his descent. "But then, where are my manners?" he asked rhetorically. "You must be famished. My assistant Hirosho--" he gestured towards the figure standing in the doorway "--will show you to your room. And Suzaka--" he motioned towards the girl who was now standing next to him "--will bring you some food and drink. We will talk later."  
  
Inu Yasha watched as Suzaka turned heel and promptly walked into the kitchen, not even looking back at him to wonder what the entire situation was about. Hirosho stepped towards him.  
  
"Follow me, please."  
  
  
  
That...wasn't Kagome? Inu Yasha thought, confused, staring up at the ceiling above his bed. He had no time for sleep--not when a matter this ponderous was happening. Then why the hell am I here?  
  
A soft knock at his door brought Inu Yasha out of his repertoire, and he sat up. "Come in."  
  
The door opened to reveal Suzaka, holding a tray of tea. Inu Yasha jumped up.  
  
"Father..." Suzaka stammered, "thought you might appreciate this...after a long journey..." She set it down quickly on the table near the bed. "I'll leave you now," she said quickly, before Inu Yasha blocked her access to the doorway.  
  
"Would you...have tea with me?" he asked.  
  
Suzaka looked longingly at the door for a moment before sighing in defeat and nodding.  
  
They walked over to Inu Yasha's bed with the tea and took opposite sides. The bed made for a comfortable, if not practical, conversation area.  
  
"So you're Michiyuki's daughter," Inu Yasha started, and sighed. "So who was your mother?"  
  
Suzaka abruptly stopped drinking her tea. "She...died," she said, looking into her cup. "At least, that's what father said. By...a demon..." Her voice became quieter. "...That's the reason I am uncomfortable around you."  
  
Inu Yasha used a finger to bring her chin up, forcing their eyes to meet. "I mean you no harm, nor do I INTEND to harm you at ANY time," he said.  
  
She stared at him for what seemed an eternity, before she finally nodded slowly, accepting this--even if only temporary--truce.  
  
Suzaka's eyes caught the crystal pendant hanging on the youkai's neck. "What...in the world...is THAT?"  
  
He looked at where her eyes were locked, then, understanding, removed the pendant and handed it to her. Suzaka set her tea down to examine it with free hands. She caressed its face. "It's...beautiful..." she said. "Where did you get it?"  
  
Inu Yasha smiled painfully. "An old friend, I guess you could say."  
  
Suzaka nodded, and handed the pendant back to him. "I've..." She pulled at a cord around her neck. "I've got one, too. I've never seen another like it."  
  
Inu Yasha used one claw to pull the chain towards him. Exactly identical to his. And her neck...he casually stared at her neck.  
  
Scarred.  
  
The girl in front of him WAS Kagome. He knew it for sure.  
  
But how to get her to remember him? He was sure that she wasn't going to go with him willingly.  
  
As bad as it sounded, Inu Yasha feared that he would have to resort to violence to save Kagome.  
  
Or, his mind quipped, sneak her out.  
  
  
  
"Sir Inu Yasha," Michiyuki said, standing up from his desk, "I'm so pleased that you could join me."  
  
"What do you want?" he growled.  
  
"I believe that you are familiar with a certain jewel...the Shikon?"  
  
Inu Yasha became defensive. "What of this jewel?"  
  
"You were searching for it earlier in your life, some fifty years ago. Am I correct?"  
  
"You may be, human," Inu Yasha stated, making sure that his growing aggravation was showing quite well on his face.  
  
Michiyuki chuckled. "I have come into possession of one of the shards. I have no use for it...perhaps you would care to take it with the ones you have?" He opened his desk drawer to remove a small container; in it was, indeed, a shard of the glowing jewel. He pushed it across the desk at Inu Yasha, who swiped it up to examine it.  
  
Inu Yasha raised a cautious eyebrow. "What's the catch?"  
  
"No catch. I just had no use for it, that's all."  
  
Inu Yasha stared at Michiyuki for some time, trying to determine if what had just transpired was a falsity. He could not tell one way or another, so was forced to assume that it was, indeed, true. He slipped the shard into his pocket and left.  
  
Michiyuki grinned evilly and looked down at the palm of his left hand, where two shards of the jewel had been embedded for quite some time. The source of his powers of illusion. "Well," he said quietly to the closed door, "we're going to have quite some fun now, aren't we?"  
  
  
  
Inu Yasha quietly waited in his room for several hours before, confidant that the estate was asleep, crept into Suzaka's room. Finding her sound asleep, he gently picked her up, opened her bedroom window, and stole into the night.  
  
  
  
//"What...is THAT?" Inu Yasha demanded, pointing a shaky claw at the odd black box that Kagome had brought out of her pack.  
  
She simply smiled. "It's called a camera, Inu Yasha."  
  
"Kaah-muh-rah?" he asked, shaping the strange word. "What does it do?"  
  
"I'll show you," she said, pointing it at him and pressing a button. There was a flash of light, which momentarily blinded him, and he dropped to the ground, rubbing his eyes. When he batted them several times, he found that he could indeed, still see, but there were small, semi-transparent purple splotches in his field of vision. He swiped at his eyes.  
  
"Kagome," he growled, aggravated, "your box serves no purpose but to blind your enemy."  
  
She laughed, shaking a small piece of what seemed to be paper that had come from the camera. "That was the flash," she stated. "You shouldn't look into that. It can blind you."  
  
"So I've noticed," he quipped, looking at her and still rubbing his eyes. "So what is that thing you're holding, then?"  
  
"It's a picture. It came out of the camera."  
  
"Picture of WHAT?"  
  
"You."  
  
Inu Yasha growled in disbelief, got up, and walked over to his companion. He glared at the picture, and was taken aback to find his own image imprinted onto the odd paper. He growled again. "That's not me!" he yelled. "I'M me, not this...this...fake!"  
  
Kagome laughed again. "Think of it as a drawing, Inu Yasha. Of COURSE it's not you. Just a likeness."  
  
Inu Yasha finally nodded, slowly coming to an understanding. But it didn't make him like the thing any more than he already did.  
  
Kagome checked a few things on the camera then looked up at him. "I wanted to get a picture of us together," she said, somewhat shyly.  
  
He glared at her, but finally conceded. Kagome fiddled with a few buttons and placed the camera on a nearby tree stump, then ran over to Inu Yasha and kneeled beside him. He threw an arm over her shoulders and flexed his claws in front of her chest; a look that said, "don't mess with us."  
  
"Inu Yasha," she said, looking up at him, but not moving. "The camera will go off in a few seconds. Just hold this pose."  
  
Pose? he thought, before the camera took its picture, leaving his face with more of an inquisitive than threatening look.//  
  
  
  
Suzaka woke up hours later to find herself covered with a purple cloak and in the middle of nowhere. There was a small, dying fire near her, and on the other side of that fire was...  
  
...A demon.  
  
She screamed.  
  
Inu Yasha jolted out of sleep and shot up. "What?" he asked nervously, looking around the campsite. Finding nothing, "What is it, Kagome?"  
  
Suzaka looked puzzled. "Where am I?"  
  
Inu Yasha sat down next to her, confident that there was no real danger around their tiny camp. "You're with me, obviously." He paused. "I had to get you out of there, Kagome. I-WE--need you."  
  
"...Kagome?" she asked, puzzled. "Who is Kagome?"  
  
Inu Yasha sighed. "You."  
  
"My name is Suzaka Michi--"  
  
"Your name," Inu Yasha interrupted, "is Kagome Higurashi. You live in Tokyo, Japan. You came here to help me search for the broken Shikon Jewel."  
  
"Shikon?" she gasped. "My father is looking for that jewel! Do you have it?"  
  
THAT'S the reason for all of this? The damn jewel? That son of a bitch LIED to me the entire time...He was going to take the shards that I've collected for himself... "...No, I don't." It wasn't REALLY a lie. He only had shards of it. And besides, Shippo had it. He wondered if the kitsune was really looking over the bag with the shards in it. "...But that's not the point. The point is, you are not who Michiyuki claims you are."  
  
Suzaka was silent for quite some time, taking a sudden fascination with her hands. "I..." she finally said, quietly, "...I had thought before that he wasn't really my father...but I couldn't prove it." She paused again, and looked up at him with her inquiry. "I don't suppose YOU could?"  
  
Inu Yasha pondered the question. "There's our matching pendants," he said. He thought again before finally adding, "And this..." he pulled out a picture from a pocket in the small sack he had taken with him and handed it to her.  
  
Suzaka ran her fingers over the picture of her with the demon. It seemed to be a recent picture--her hair was the same length, and she was wearing the same outfit. And he hadn't changed since the picture was taken. She looked closer at the picture. Her scar was still there. So the picture was FAIRLY recent. Within a month, she figured. She dropped the picture and buried her head in her hands. Was her entire life with Michiyuki just one big lie? Was he making up her entire past and messing with her memories? She couldn't stand the thought of a man who had been so kind to her being so vile. But she should have suspected it earlier. There were little things that just didn't add up. The fact that he didn't talk about her as a child, the fact that the visitors at the estate were surprised to see her...it just didn't make sense. His stories changed each time he told them. She had taken note but said nothing.   
  
Inu Yasha slowly rubbed her back. She jerked up, forcing him to go into a semi-retreat.  
  
"Inu Yasha?" she asked. "If we really knew each other before...how did I get this?" She craned her neck so he could see the scar it held.  
  
He grimaced with guilt. When he spoke, his voice faltered. "...I did it." Upon hearing her gasp in fear, Inu Yasha quickly moved to reassure her as best as possible. "But it was an accident, Kagome...I would never purposely hurt you...please remember..."  
  
{"I'm so sorry...I didn't mean to...I didn't know..."}  
  
"You...slashed me..." she said, forming the words as though recognizing that she had said them before. She closed her eyes and strained her mind. "Bandage...you offered me a bandage..." She leaned over and felt the shirt Inu   
Yasha was wearing. "...from this." Her eyes flew open and she looked at his sleeve, located the torn edge, held it. "Here," she said, tugging it. "You tore this off."  
  
Inu Yasha nodded, delighted that she remembered something of their past together. Maybe it was the first step to getting her memory back completely.  
  
"I...remember you..." she said slowly. "At the very least, you were not my enemy...I believe you when you say it was an accident...I remember that much..." She paused. Her head hurt tremendously, and she brought her fingers to her temples, lightly massaging them. Gaining one's memory back took time. She wondered how much.  
  
Inu Yasha sighed, and, taking her shoulders, slowly pulled her back to rest her head in his lap. He pulled his cloak over her to block the slight chill in the air, and leaned back against the tree he was sitting in front of. "Go to sleep," he said, lightly stroking her hair. "I'll protect you."  
  
{"I meant, let me PROTECT you! Do you hear?"}  
  
Suzaka reached for the picture that was near Inu Yasha's knee, and stared at it. Ran her fingers over its face. "I...should go by my...real name...shouldn't I?" she asked rhetorically. "Call me Kagome again..."  
  
He smiled. "Kagome."  
  
Kagome smiled. It sounded familiar...sounded right. She had known this demon. He hadn't killed her, like Michiyuki had told her that all demons would. Maybe he was telling her the truth. Regardless, she had to stay with him, or die alone and lost in the forest.  
  
She allowed sleep to overcome her, confidant that, somehow, she would be all right.  
  
  
  
Oh gods, Inu Yasha thought, I've gotten myself into quite a situation here.  
  
He was happy--no, THRILLED--that Kagome was safe with him again, but the situation could not have been worse. She didn't remember anything of their history together.  
  
Nothing of THEM.  
  
Maybe it was for the best. After all, danger seemed to follow him wherever he went. Or was he the one who always followed danger? He couldn't tell anymore. But she was always with him. Always endangered. Was the entire ordeal really worth it?  
  
He could send her back and plug up the well. She was still naïve enough to be fooled into believing that whatever memories she had thought she had recovered were nothing more than a dream. Whenever she passed the well she would get little more than feelings of deja vu.  
  
He looked down at the figure sleeping in his lap and lightly stroked her hair. Could he REALLY do that to her? Somehow, given what she had been through, it just didn't seem fair.  
  
To you, or to her?  
  
Does it really matter?  
  
He played the scenario many times over in his head and concluded that he could not do it. Sending Kagome back with no memories whatsoever was too cruel. He would simply be washing his hands of her and sending her to a world of the unknown. A stranger in a strange land...  
  
Kagome stirred a bit and he held his breath, careful not to wake her up. She had been through so much--best to let her sleep for the time being. He didn't want to involve her into his confusion quite yet. He heard her sigh contentedly, and curl into a tighter ball, longing for the warmth of his body to spread over hers, for the wind was quite cold that night. He hadn't realized it, lost in his thoughts, but he was freezing.  
  
He couldn't poke at the fire--it was too far away, and risked Kagome's waking. So he tried his best to tough it out, although he had to admit partial defeat when he slumped his body over Kagome's in an effort to absorb some of the heat that he was providing her. He tried his best not to shiver throughout the remainder of the night.  
  
  
  
"Inu...Inu-Yasha?" Kagome's soft voice ventured.  
  
He turned his head around. "Yeah?"  
  
"Were...what...what were we like?" she asked quietly. "Together, I mean. Were we...lovers?"  
  
Inu Yasha stopped dead in his tracks and whipped around. "Were...we WHAT?"  
  
Her voice became even more meek. "Lovers."  
  
Inu Yasha was flushed. "No," he said hurriedly. "We were not." We might have been, his mind cruelly reminded him, but I had to go and piss you off and cause you to leave. He made a tight fist and promptly released it. "No."  
  
Kagome stared at the ground. "Oh."  
  
Inu Yasha tried to look at her face, and failed. "Why?"  
  
"Just...curious, I guess." She looked into his eyes. "Yes. That's it. Curious. I'm trying to regain my memories of you, you know."  
  
Inu Yasha nodded, although a little doubtful of her motives. He turned around and continued walking towards Kaede's village.  
  
They had walked for nearly an hour before he broke the silence. "We were close, though."  
  
Kagome's mind quickly picked up his reference without missing a beat. "How close?"  
  
Inu Yasha stared straight ahead of him. "Close friends, certainly. I never did figure out what else, though. I was..." he chuckled, and turned to face her for the first time since the initial discussion of the matter. "...I was kind of hoping that you would tell me." He turned back around. "And then you disappeared, and...well...I just didn't have time to think about it."  
  
That was a lie, and he knew it. In between worrying about Kagome, he was worrying about them. Worried about their situation together. As a couple. Certainly, Shippo would chuckle and make snide remarks, but that was the very least of their worries. If demons other than Shippo knew of his emotional bondage to a mortal, she would become an easy target. Not only easy, but also necessary, in order to get what they were after.  
  
It was thinking of protecting her if that time came when he realized that the Tetsusaiga was missing from its scabbard. He looked around for it frantically, finally finding that Kagome had taken it, and was sitting against a rock, examining it.  
  
"Sure, we can take a break," he muttered, and went to join her. "Do you remember this at all?" he asked Kagome, sitting beside her on the large rock.  
  
"I remembered something last night," she said, tracing every inch of the blade with the fingers of one hand. "Something about you...protecting me..." She held up the blade dubiously. "...with THIS?"  
  
He sighed, and took the blade, twirling it in his hands. "Well, looks can be deceiving," he simply said, staring at the blade. He couldn't talk about looks being deceiving. He himself had said just about the same thing on first sight.  
  
Kagome smiled and looked at him from the corner of her eye. "Indeed, they CAN be deceiving," she said quietly, intended for herself. She paused, and cleared her throat. "So...how does it work?"  
  
"It...transforms, you could say, whenever you need protecting. It was my father's..." He took a few swipes at the air with the sword. "Quite a powerful demonic blade, actually."  
  
{"Shut your mouth! My mother died a long time ago!"}  
  
"You had a mortal mother?"  
  
Inu Yasha nodded slowly, wishing that she wouldn't remember THAT; not now. Not when they had more pressing issues. Like their situation together. He forced those selfish thoughts out of his head. Progress was progress, whether the subject was something he wanted or something he didn't. "She was a mortal," he repeated.  
  
"A blade made to protect mortals..." Kagome stated, staring straight and closing her eyes, deep in thought, trying to regain part of her memory back. "...Tetsusaiga?" she finally asked, looking up at Inu Yasha for confirmation.  
  
He smiled down at her. "That's right. You're getting better! That's a relief. I was afraid that you had forgotten me for good." He brought his free arm around her shoulders and pulled her into him for a brief moment of time, hugging her before releasing her, keeping his arm draped over her shoulders. "You know you'll have to find a better way to get rid of me. Because the entire memory-loss thing..." He pulled her into a mock head lock. "...Just doesn't work. It really doesn't."  
  
Kagome laughed, and brought both hands up to clasp his arm. "Forget YOU? I think that would be nearly impossible." She paused, and chuckled at herself. "Actually, I guess it's NOT so impossible, is it?"  
  
Inu Yasha chuckled politely and let her go, but his mind was somewhere else. He seemed distant, looking at the skyline. He finally spoke, bringing his arm back to his side. "I think...I think it's best if I took you home. To your family. That may be the best choice right now."  
  
Kagome looked puzzled. "I thought YOU were my family, Inu Yasha."  
  
He became outraged, and leapt off the rock. "ME?!" he demanded, huffing. Kagome laughed, indicating that the statement had been nothing more that a joke. He started to slowly cool down.  
  
"You may be right, though," she said. "Maybe if I saw things that I had in my..." She paused. "REAL life...then it might help. Would...would you stay with me there, though? You're the only person I really know now. I'd be more comfortable if you were near me."  
  
His expression turned soft. "Of course I'll stay with you, Kagome. I told you that I'd always protect you."  
  
She smiled. "I'm glad. Now," she said, jumping up from the rock and grabbing his hand, pulling him towards the path they were taking, "let's go home!"  
  
  
  
Inu Yasha reached down to help pull Kagome and her massive pack out of the well. Buyo, as usual, was waiting for her, anxious for a scratch or possibly even some food. However, he arched his back in defense and hissed when he saw Inu Yasha. The youkai countered by casually holding out his hand, claws pointing outward. Buyo quickly ran from the shrine.  
  
"Kagome?" a small boy's voice came from outside. "Is that you, sis?"  
  
Kagome looked questioningly at Inu Yasha. "Your little brother Sota," he murmured.  
  
Sota ran into the shrine, looking down at the well. "Kagome!" he exclaimed, running down the stairs towards the well. "I KNEW that was you! You're about due for a visit...mom's going insane, and Gramps...well, let's just say that you might want to go to school pretty soon and settle your health record for good." He noticed Inu Yasha's presence. "Cool! You brought HIM!" Sota then got quiet. "That means...there's a monster here again?"  
  
Kagome blinked in confusion. Luckily, Inu Yasha was there to save her. He put one hand on top of Sota's head. "No, there's nothing here. I just...wanted a vacation from back THERE." He jerked his head towards the direction of the well they had just come out of. "You get me?"  
  
Sota nodded eagerly. "This'll be so cool! You can sleep in my room."  
  
Inu Yasha blinked. "Where will you sleep, then?"  
  
Sota thought. "Uhm..."  
  
The youkai laughed. "That's all right. I'll figure something out." He already knew where he wanted to sleep. He wanted to sleep in the tree outside of Kagome's room. So he could--  
  
protect her, his mind piped up, afraid of what his current train of thought was going to think of.  
  
Inu Yasha took the large pack on his back and turned to Kagome. "Come on," he said, "let's go see your mom."  
  
  
  
Kagome sighed as she flopped down onto her bed. Her conversation with her mother had gone well enough with few glitches--she merely stuck to the words Inu Yasha had told her to say, while adding a few of her own when the situation called for them. Yes, she was glad to be home, and the first thing she was planning on doing was to take a nice hot bath. No, Inu Yasha was not going to join her. No, they were not dating. NO, they were not involved in THAT way. Yes, she would have to go back soon. Yes, there is a reason that Inu Yasha was here--for protection. No, she was confident that nothing was going to happen. So she supposed that he came to have a good time. NO not like THAT. Yes, they were going to sleep in separate rooms. Yes, she was hungry, and oden sounded delicious.  
  
All right, dinner would be later than usual.  
  
Inu Yasha poked her. "Hey," he said. "You all right?"  
  
She sighed, and flipped over onto her back so she could look up at him. "Yeah," she replied, putting her arms under her head to act as a pillow. "It's just...well..." Her face scrunched up slightly as she thought, and she released it. "...I guess it's just too much at one time. That's all."  
  
He nodded. "I can understand what you mean. That's why we're here. I think...I think I can probably find some pictures of you around here somewhere. I thought maybe that seeing pictures of your life before...me...would maybe jog your memory." He growled. "Stupid idea. I have no idea where anything is. And you don't either. And no one else knows your situation..."  
  
"...Kagome?" Sota's quiet voice chirped up from the opened crack in the door. "Kagome?" He walked into her room, eyes wide. "You really don't remember me?"  
  
Kagome sat up and stared into her brother's eyes. "I..." she looked nervously at Inu Yasha, who waved his hand in frustration. She looked back at Sota, and bowed her head to look at the floor. "...No, Sota...I don't. I lost my memories. That's why I'm here...to try and remember my life."  
  
Sota latched on to her left leg and squeezed it tightly. "It's not true, right, Kagome? You and Inu Yasha are playing a mean trick on me..." He started to cry, and his voice became quiet and soft. "You HAVE to remember me..."  
  
Inu Yasha kneeled in front of Sota. "Do you have any picture albums or anything that can help Kagome remember who she is?"  
  
Sota thought for a minute, not letting go of his sister's leg. Finally, he nodded. "Mom keeps a family picture album downstairs."  
  
"Would you go and get it?"  
  
Sota nodded reluctantly, looking up at Kagome one last time before running downstairs.  
  
  
  
Kagome closed the photo album and carefully laid it on the floor before leaning back against her bed and sighing. Nothing significant had come from the picture method; only bits and pieces of memory, waiting to be strung together by one main realization, one that she had yet to reach. She brought her knees up to her chest, rested her arms on them, and rested her head on her forearms, grasping at her long black hair. She had had enough of the entire situation. She wanted her old life back and she wanted it NOW. She threw her head back onto the cushioning of the bed, staring at her ceiling. Her fist punched the rug beneath her. Why did Michiyuki have to erase her memories? Was it because she had been on to something before being found out by him? What could have been THAT important to him...?  
  
There was a knock on her door. "Come in," she replied, looking up.  
  
The door opened to reveal Inu Yasha carrying a tray with two full steaming teacups. "Well, this is certainly a role reversal," he muttered to himself before setting the tray down on the floor and sitting in front of her. "...How are you doing?"  
  
She groaned. "Terrible. The photos didn't help much and my head hurts." She sighhed. "Inu Yasha, why are you still with me? I feel like I'm a completely lost cause. You've been doing everything you can to help me, and nothing's working. Why don't you just leave and go find that jewel on your own?"  
  
Inu Yasha's eyes widened. "I can't just leave you! I need you, Kagome!" He paused, and tried to cover up. "You're the only one who can find the Shikon shards for me."  
  
Kagome glared at him for a few seconds, then started laughing. "You're the weirdest demon that I've ever met."  
  
Inu Yasha poked his pointer finger onto the center of Kagome's forehead. "I believe I'm also the ONLY demon you've ever met. Or at least REMEMBER."  
  
Kagome stared up at his finger, taking the statement into consideration. "This is true." She laughed.  
  
"Kagome!" a voice called from downstairs. Her mother. "It's time for dinner!" Another pause. "Bring your...friend...with you, too!"  
  
Kagome chuckled. "C'mon, dog-boy." She ran out of her room and down the stairs before Inu Yasha had a chance to swipe at her.  
  
  
  
Kagome patted her stomach. "I...am...stuffed," she remarked, walking into her room. She stretched. "I'm also tired." She looked around. "What time is it?"  
  
Inu Yasha walked behind her and glanced at the clock by her bed. "It's about 10:30, Kagome. Still early."  
  
She shrugged. "Just the same, I'm going to sleep. I've been through a lot in the past few days, you know." She smiled, then: "Where are you going to sleep?"  
  
Inu Yasha pointed to her window. "Right outside of there."  
  
Kagome blinked, and raised an eyebrow at the youkai. "Are you a voyeur, Inu Yasha?"  
  
Inu Yasha turned red. "No!!" He shook his head rapidly. "I just want to be near you in case something were to happen. You're very vulnerable right now, Kagome. And besides...it wouldn't be the first time that a demon came after you in this time. I just would feel better if I knew you were close by."  
  
Liar, his mind criticized.  
  
Shut up. He started to climb out of the windowsill.  
  
Kagome followed him to the window. "Are you going to be okay?" she asked fretfully. "I mean...will you be warm enough? Do you need a quilt or something?"  
  
Inu Yasha grinned. "If I could sleep in that cold forest with you wearing my cloak as a blanket, I can certainly sleep in a tree fully clothed. Yes, I'll be just fine. Don't worry. Just get some sleep."  
  
Kagome stared down at the windowsill, lightly kicking at the wall below it. "Inu Yasha?" she ventured quietly. "Why did you want the Shikon jewel? I mean, what are you planning on using it for once you get it?"  
  
Inu Yasha reddened slightly. "Well..." He groaned and rubbed his mouth with one hand. "I had always been planning on using it to become a full demon...but..." His voice tapered off.  
  
"But...?"  
  
"Well...let's just say that complications rose." He sat down in her windowsill and used a claw to draw small circles in it. He sighed. "You probably would have remembered it eventually, so I might as well tell you now. Long before you met me, the keeper of the jewel was a priestess known as Kikyo. She looked just like you, except she always carried a bow and arrows to fend off people who wanted the jewel for their own. Try as I might, I just couldn't get the jewel from her. Her arrows would stop me every time--but she never killed me when she had the chance. I asked her about it once. She called me 'a waste of arrows.'" He chuckled softly. "I guess I am. Anyway, she offered me the chance to use the jewel and become human." Inu Yasha suddenly became more distant. "I guess it was a moment's insanity, but I accepted her offer to meet her. I went home that night and seriously considered becoming a full human. Anything was better than being a halfling, as far as I was concerned."  
  
Liar.  
  
Shut up.  
  
Inu Yasha shifted a bit before continuing. "I went to the agreed meeting place the next day, and she shot me with an arrow, claiming that I had attacked her and stolen the jewel, and was on my way to go and burn her village. The arrow she shot me with went through my shoulder and lodged into a tree--the one that's growing in your backyard in this time, you should know--and it put me into an enchanted sleep. I rose when you woke me fifty years later."  
  
{"You're nothing like her!"}  
  
Kagome put her hand on his. "You were in love with her, weren't you?"  
  
Inu Yasha growled; the demonic equivalent of a human's frustrated moan, Kagome supposed.  
  
"You were in love with her...and wanted to become human and live with her. Is that it?" She paused, removed her hand from his arm, and stared at the floor. "Do you love me because I look like Kikyo?"  
  
Inu Yasha's head shot up to stare at her. "Oh, gods no, Kagome. No. Please, don't ever think that."  
  
Her head shot up. "Do you love me?" she asked timidly.  
  
Inu Yasha gulped. Did she trick him? No...the look in her eyes was not one of trickery. Confusion? Most likely. You're in a tough spot now, pal, his mind taunted. What are you going to do about it? Deny your love? RIGHT. You just said that you loved her. Earlier on you told her that you weren't sure what you and she were together, and that you were really close. Smooth move, blockhead.  
  
Inu Yasha made a fist and quickly released it, looked straight into her eyes, and nodded. "I love you," he said quietly.  
  
She hesitated until finally she threw her arms around him and nuzzled against his chest. I love you, her mind sang back. Only you. Now and forever. There's only you.  
  
Inu Yasha brought a hand around to hold one of her arms, and stroked it lightly with his thumb. "I love you because..." He faltered. "I guess it's the a combination of a thousand things, really. I love your determination, your personality, your smile. I love your dedication, your compassion. But I think that most of all..." he stopped stroking her arm and seemed somewhat vacant. "...I love your devotion to me. How you can come back here and then turn right back around and come back to me. How you can go back to the life that you know as strange. The fact that you can even LIVE this double life amazes me. And it's when you're gone that I realize that I can't cope with your not being with me; not anymore." He buried his nose in her hair and inhaled deeply. He was always relaxed when they were together, like this, and he wasn't quite sure why. But he liked it.  
  
Kagome squeezed him a little harder. Inu Yasha brought his arms around her, and could feel her trembling. He broke their embrace and held her lightly by her shoulders. "Kagome?" he asked worriedly, trying to look at her eyes. He slid off the windowsill and kneeled in front of her on the carpet. "Kagome, are you all right?"  
  
Kagome looked up, and Inu Yasha saw that she was crying. She nodded, and used the back of her hand to wipe her tears off of her face. "I'm fine. I'm just...I..." She suddenly leaned in towards him in a swift movement, and kissed him.  
  
Astonishment passed over Inu Yasha's face in great waves, and left quickly when he leaned forward: accepting the kiss, returning it. His arms encircled her once again, and her hands found their way to his silver hair and tangled themselves in it.  
  
The need for air brought them apart, and they stared at each other, gasping heavily. Kagome's face was starting to turn pink with blush. They sat in silence, re-catching their breaths, neither knowing what exactly to say.   
  
Kagome finally broke their mutual stillness by backing away from him, saying her quiet good night, and when he moved back into the tree, she closed the windows. She went to turn off the lights and hop into her bed, leaving a bewildered Inu Yasha literally and metaphorically in the dark. He blinked in confusion.  
  
What just happened?  
  
Inu Yasha realized that he really didn't care just then; not at the current moment. There was a much more pressing matter: Would she ever kiss him like that again if he were to reach for her? Or would she pull away, claiming that she wasn't sure that they should be doing this now? He didn't think that he could take the latter-even though, with her current state of mind, he feared it was what she would choose.  
  
But what if she gets her memory back? his mind asked.  
  
WHEN she gets it back, he corrected himself.  
  
WHEN she gets her memory back, what then? his mind continued. What happens then? Will she deny what happened, or will she...pursue the issue? That was a question that was too much to indulge in at this point. Maybe later...  
  
Inu Yasha laid down on the tree branch, cushioned his arms behind his head, and stared up at the night sky, trying to determine if this night would be one without sleep.  
  
  
  
Inu Yasha woke up several hours later, in the wee hours of the night. His stomach rumbled and he realized that he really hadn't eaten much of the dinner that Kagome's mother had prepared for them. He wondered why--he usually ate most of the food that Kagome brought back to his time anyway. Maybe it was because he was worried about her. He wasn't sure.  
  
Inu Yasha turned to lie on his back, cradling his head in his arms and staring up at the night sky. The wind blew fiercely around him, and he shivered. He should have taken the blanket when she had offered it. Twenty-twenty hindsight, he supposed. He squished a mosquito that had thought him to be a tasty snack, and contemplated. Was everything that had happened earlier just a dream? He brought a hand up to his lips and touched them softly. No, it had definitely been real. He had confessed his feelings towards Kagome, and she had retaliated. But what was to happen to them tomorrow? Would she shy away from him and their current situation? Somewhere inside him he felt it cruel to dump his feelings onto her now, when she was most fragile.  
  
Amongst the sounds of crickets and trees rustling in the winds, Inu Yasha's keen demon sense of hearing picked up muffled cries from Kagome's bedroom. He sat up and strained to single out what Kagome was saying above everything else around him. His efforts were finally rewarded when he was able to pick out Kagome's cries for help.  
  
One cry in particular.  
  
His name.  
  
Repeated. Over and over. Time and time again.  
  
What now? he asked himself. Comfort her? Wake her?  
  
When he heard his name yet again, he made his hasty decision to enter her room. Her window was unlocked; he simply pushed it open and jumped from his tree to her windowsill and into her bedroom. He stood in place for several seconds, allowing his demon sight to adjust to the darkness before he walked over to her bed and lightly touched her head, stroked her hair. "Kagome?" he whispered.  
  
Kagome's entire body relaxed at his caress. "Inu Yasha..." she murmured sleepily, and sighed happily, rubbing her head against his hand as best she could, enjoying the contact and the warmth.   
  
Inu Yasha smiled. "It's all right. You were just having a nightmare," he whispered softly. He was well aware that she was asleep and didn't hear him, but saying the words somehow convinced him that Kagome was okay. "You just keep sleeping and dreaming GOOD dreams. And I'll be right here when you wake up."  
  
He removed his hand from her hair, and turned to head back to his   
  
hell   
  
tree-bed. He stood in the windowsill on his way back into the tree when he turned to look at Kagome one last time. A harsh cold wind blew against him, and he shivered, turning back to the window.  
  
Kagome stirred, waking to the wind. She rubbed her eyes and noticed the figure in the windowsill. "...Inu Yasha?" she asked softly.  
  
Inu Yasha nodded, not turning to see her. "Yeah. Sorry to wake you."  
  
"You didn't wake me," she said quickly. "It's just...cold."  
  
Inu Yasha stared outside. "I'm sorry," he said, preparing himself to step out into the cold again. "I'll leave now."  
  
A hesitation. "Don't."  
  
Inu Yasha finally turned to look at Kagome once more. "What?"  
  
"If I'M cold, then YOU must be FREEZING. Come sleep in here for the rest of the night."  
  
The youkai stepped into her room again, closed her window, and stood by it. "There's nowhere to sleep," he noted.  
  
"There's my bed."  
  
His heart skipped a beat, then pounded madly. Inu Yasha stammered. "I...I don't think that's the best of ideas right now..."  
  
Even in the dark, he could see her smile. "I'm too tired to even attempt to do anything, and you're obviously freezing. I don't think anything will happen between us." She thought again. "This is simply a matter of heat conservation."  
  
Inu Yasha thought for quite a while, coming up with (and shooting down) half a million excuses before finally admitting defeat and shuffling over to Kagome's bed. She scooted over to allow him room to slip his tall lean body under the covers. She pulled her large blanket over him when he was situated, then sprawled one of her arms over his chest, lending him some of her own body heat.  
  
He liked it. Liked the closeness. He brought a hand to cover the one on his chest. He wasn't sure if his hands were still cold; if they were, she had no complaints.  
  
Kagome smiled and blew lightly on his ear, sending delicious shivers down his body in the form of goose bumps. "Goodnight, dog boy," she chuckled.  
  
He groaned in response, but smiled, and pillowed his head with his other arm.  
  
They slept.  
  
  
  
Inu Yasha woke up early the next morning to see the sun starting to peer over the horizon. Buyo was scratching at the foot of the bed. He looked down at the cat and chuckled. "Sorry, cat," he said softly, "I don't have any food for you. I'm sure Kagome will feed you when she wakes up..." He turned his head as much as he was able to in order to look at his sleeping companion. She was huddled up, arm still over his chest, with a happy and contented smile on her face. Good dreams, he supposed. Or perhaps good company. He grinned.  
  
His eyes trailed over to the clock on her bedside table. About 6:00. Much too early to try and wake Kagome. He wondered what they would do, having already broken out the photographs and remembering nothing. School, perhaps? He decided against it, figuring that it would be much too complicated. And that damn Hojo might show up, his jealous side piped up. Ask her for a date...and give her some sort of present. Persistent jerk.  
  
He sighed. He shouldn't have thought about Hojo. What Kagome did with her schoolmates was really her own business, and he shouldn't decide her life for her. He berated himself for thinking that just because they shared a kiss or two meant that he had some sort of claim over her. Women weren't objects that were claimed; they were PEOPLE.  
  
He stopped in his thoughts. When had he become so SENSITIVE? He couldn't remember...all he could figure was that it had happened some time after Kagome had first entered his world. It hadn't been right away, of course--he had constantly insulted her for being mortal and often tried to ditch her or make her give up their battle. But she was incredibly persistent, never giving up her own fight. She might have complained, but he supposed that he would have done the same thing in her situation. In a way, he admired her for her persistence--as annoying as it could be at times.  
  
He heard stirring around the house and got out of Kagome's bed as fast as he could without waking her. Pressed for options and time, he sprinted to the window and sat, feigning sleep. He was just in time, too-soon Kagome's bedroom door opened to reveal Kagome's mother checking in on her daughter. Satisfied that Inu Yasha was not in bed with her, nor had there been any "unsupervised activities" the previous night, she looked around the rest of her room, surprised to find Inu Yasha sleeping slumped up against the wall by Kagome's window. Kagome's mother entered the room and pulled the sheets over Kagome's body fully, then moved to Inu Yasha and just stared.  
  
I suppose it WAS rather cold, she thought. Perhaps that's why he's in here. But I get an uneasy feeling... She sat in silence for another moment, then shrugged, and, despite herself, reached out to rub Inu Yasha's ears.  
  
They twitched, and Inu Yasha "woke up", thankful for the opportunity to explain his presence in Kagome's room.  
  
"I'm sorry," Kagome's mother said softly. "Did I wake you?"  
  
Inu Yasha made a show of yawning and stretching. "No...I was half awake anyway. It's not a problem...I'm usually up pretty early anyway."  
  
Kagome's mother simply nodded.  
  
Inu Yasha stopped in mid-yawn. "Oh...it was cold last night, and I slipped in here earlier this morning to warm up." He looked up at her mother cautiously. "...Is that okay?"  
  
Kagome's mother was silent for quite a while, before finally nodding. "That was fine. It really was cold last night...why, I half expected it to snow!" She chuckled.  
  
Inu Yasha grinned. " That would have been most interesting," he agreed. He realized how out of character he was acting this morning-strange. He supposed that it had to do with the previous night's admittance of love and his self-reflection, but the dramatic change in his personality surprised even HIM.  
  
He made his way to his feet. "Can I help you with breakfast?"  
  
Kagome's mother was taken aback. "...Sure," she finally said, checking once more on her daughter before leaving her room.  
  
Inu Yasha followed, bending down to give Kagome a quick kiss on the top of her head before closing the door behind him and heading downstairs.  
  
  
  
Kagome moaned sleepily and reached her arm out to clutch the other side of her bed. Finding nothing, she opened her eyes and sat up. "Inu Yasha?" she asked inquisitively, looking around the room. She sighed at her empty room. Had last night meant NOTHING to him? Or even worse-had it meant the wrong thing? Did he decide that it was too much intimacy...too much romance...too many complications? It was much too early for him to be nervous--they'd only just kissed. Nothing more.  
  
She stretched, and remained sitting in her bed, somehow loathe to move. She glanced at her clock--7:15. She supposed that she would be late to school...then her eye caught the fact that it was a Sunday. I could go out with Inu Yasha today... she thought, and shivered deliciously at the fact. Then: I could go out...if he hadn't left me.  
  
A knock at her door brought her out of her repertoire. Kagome looked at the door. "Come in," she finally said.  
  
With some difficulty, Inu Yasha was able to navigate himself and a rather large tray of food into her room. He kicked the door closed with his foot, and walked over to her bed. "Morning, sunshine," he quipped, bending down to kiss her on the top of her head. "I brought you breakfast in bed."  
  
Kagome smiled despite herself. "You cooked?" she asked suspiciously.  
  
The youkai shrugged. "Maybe I did. Maybe I didn't. You're going to have to find that out for yourself, won't you?" He grinned playfully. Kagome saw his ears twitch in delight. I'm going to have to find an excuse to touch those at some point or another, she thought. And it might as well be now.  
  
Kagome reared herself up until she was kneeling on her bed, and reached for Inu Yasha. Startled, but complying, Inu Yasha leaned forward. Kagome grabbed his ears and rubbed them between her fingers. He shivered with delight.  
  
"Ka...Kagome..." he tried.  
  
"You have the cutest little ears," she simply stated.   
  
"Kyuh...cute?" He growled, trying to regain his composure. "I am not 'cute'! I am INU YASHA!"  
  
They both stopped movement all together, and sat in silence.  
  
Laughter suddenly overtook them both.  
  
Kagome reached for the rice bowl that Inu Yasha had brought up for her. "Thanks for breakfast!" she exclaimed, before downing the entire bowl.  
  
Inu Yasha watched her eat. "You certainly have an appetite this morning, Kagome."  
  
She could only smile, oblivious to the grain of rice that lingered beside her mouth.  
  
Inu Yasha reached out and pressed the rice into his finger, removing it from her face. "I think..." he finally said, "...I think that we should be going back to...you know."  
  
Kagome nodded. She placed her empty rice bowl and chopsticks back on the tray on the floor and stared back at him. "To meet with Shippo?"  
  
Inu Yasha's ears pricked up. "Who did you say?"  
  
Kagome seemed uncomfortable. "...Shi...ppo."  
  
Inu Yasha raised an eyebrow. "There's hope for you yet, girl," he said gruffly, then smiled to indicate that he didn't really mean it that way. He sighed. "Yeah...it's about time you met that annoyance of a kitsune."  
  
{"That kitsune was of no use to me. You, on the other hand--"}  
  
Kagome froze and her entire body stiffened. She drew her breath in sharply and held it. "No..." she said quietly. Even with his keen demon hearing, Inu Yasha had trouble making out her words. "That's...not...Shippo's...head..."  
  
Inu Yasha stared at her. "Kagome?" he asked softly.  
  
Kagome did not acknowledge the youkai, currently trapped in her old memories.  
  
"And...that's...not...Inu...Yasha...The...hair's...the...wrong...color..."  
  
Kagome suddenly looked up at Inu Yasha, and whimpered. Inu Yasha drew her into his arms. "Kagome...what's wrong?"  
  
Kagome's eyes were wide with fear as she clutched to him. "Michi...yuki..." she finally said. "He...he kidnapped me...at the well...Myouga...I told Myouga to get you...I woke up and Shippo was dead...and you were dying...and he wouldn't let me see you...touch you...then I could, and...and...it wasn't you...and wasn't Shippo..." Kagome's grip on Inu Yasha's sleeve tightened even more, and her voice became louder and more enraged. "He forced me to drink! Forced that wretched substance down my throat..." Her voice became quiet again. "...And I woke up as Suzaka...but Kagome was still inside...and when I saw you...Kagome was screaming to be released...to run into your arms...but Suzaka was stronger...and I couldn't...I couldn't..."  
  
"Shhhh." Inu Yasha rocked her in his arms. "It's okay...you're back now, Kagome. You're back in control." He couldn't figure out how to respond to her obvious overload in regained memories. He hoped that whatever was coming out of his mouth were words of encouragement and safety. "You're okay...you're okay. I'm here. We'll be okay."  
  
Kagome remained motionless in his arms for quite some time before slowly drawing her head up and looking into the youkai's eyes. "Inu...Yasha?" she slowly asked.  
  
And she was there. Finally. Everything he had wanted to see in her eyes had returned: she was truly Kagome Higurashi once more.  
  
She pushed herself up to kiss him.  
  
The kiss was light and sweet: a homecoming for the both of them. Kagome had her memories, Inu Yasha had his love.  
  
To them, together, finally everything seemed right in the world.  
  
  
  
Michiyuki frowned at his assistant. "The girl LEFT with the demon?"  
  
Hirosho nodded solemly. "I'm afraid so, sir. But..." he glanced up at his employer. "...wasn't that what you had in mind?"  
  
Michiyuki stared out of the window. "It seems too early for that..." he mumbled, then sighed. "Yes, I HAD planned that. But not so soon--I could have at least gotten a few shards of the jewel for her."  
  
Hirosho pursed his lips in thought before finally asking, "What of the homing beacon?"  
  
"In the shard?" he asked, somewhat rhetorically. "Yes...I had forgotten about that..." He paced around the room, contemplating and talking in an illegible tangent. Finally, he stopped and looked at his assistant, startled, as if he had never noticed his presence. "What are you doing here?"  
  
Hirosho sighed. "I came here to tell you of the youkai and your...daughter."  
  
Michiyuki nodded. "Ah, yes. I remember now." He paused. "Send Muka after her."  
  
Hirosho blinked in amazement. "Are you positive, sir? Muka will most likely kill the youkai. I thought you wanted him alive."  
  
Michiyuki shook his head. "I did. But it seems that we've underestimated his keen senses. We can simply take the Shikon from his dead body."  
  
"And what of the girl?"  
  
"If she's not dead," Michiyuki replied, "then I'll simply brainwash her again. It's not hard. She can be a servant."  
  
"And if she resists brainwashing? She may have some sort of immunity against the potion now that she's had it in her blood."  
  
"Then we'll simply have to destroy her."  
  
Hirosho nodded grimly, and left to release Muka.  
  
  
  
Kagome stopped walking the path to the village, and shivered.  
  
Inu Yasha looked back. "Kagome?" he pressed. "What is it?"  
  
Kagome shook her head slowly. "I...don't know. I just feel like...something bad is going to happen..." She shook it off. "It's probably nothing. I'm probably nervous about facing Shippo and Kaede after worrying them for so long."  
  
Inu Yasha locked her gaze with his. "Are you sure?"  
  
Kagome nodded and smiled. "Thanks."  
  
"Strange girl," Inu Yasha mumbled, turning to lead her back to civilization.  
  
  
  
Muka sniffed at the ground, catching the scent of his prey. The woman and youkai had been here not too long ago--if he had a sense of time, he would have narrowed it down to less than an hour. Looking up sharply and surveying the scene, the beast knew that it was only an amount of time before the two would set up camp to rest for the night.  
  
And that's when he'd move in for the kill.  
  
  
  
"Kaede?" Kagome called out. "Kaede? I'm...back."  
  
The hut's door opened and Kaede peered out. "Kagome? Is that you, child?" She walked outside. "Kagome! I'm so relieved that you're safe," she said, hugging Kagome.  
  
Kagome hugged the old woman back. "I'm sorry to worry you."  
  
Kaede released Kagome and smiled. "Shippo will be so happy to see you..." She looked around. "Where IS that trickster, anyway?" She poked her head back into the hut. "Shippo? Kagome's back!"  
  
There was a pause, and suddenly Kagome found herself in the path of a brown blur flying towards her, screaming "KAAAGOMMEEEEEEEE!" She reached out and caught the kitsune, who instantly latched on tightly to her neck.  
  
Kagome chuckled. "I'm happy to see you, too, Shippo," she said, hugging the kitsune tightly, her old memories of his supposed demise still plaguing her.  
  
"What happened to you?" Shippo asked, wide-eyed. "Are you okay now? Did Inu Yasha beat up the bad guy? Did you get home?"  
  
Kagome smiled. "Yes, Shippo. I did. I got home and got my things...and Inu Yasha was great. Perfect gentleman."  
  
Shippo blinked at Kagome, and looked at Inu Yasha. "HIM?" he asked, pointing a claw at the youkai, and then turned to feel Kagome's forehead. "Are you feeling okay?"  
  
Kagome laughed. "I'm fine, Shippo. And I'm sorry to worry you. I'm okay now."  
  
Shippo wriggled the pouch containing the Shikon off of his neck. He threw it to Inu Yasha. "You take it now."  
  
Inu Yasha reached for the shard in his sack, and remembered that it needed to be purified first. He handed it to Kagome, who put down the kitsune and took the shard. She instantly fell to the ground.  
  
"Kagome!" Inu Yasha rushed to her, and took her in his arms. "Kagome, are you okay?"  
  
Kagome opened her eyes. "The shard..." she said, wearily.  
  
Shippo sniffed at it. "Inu Yasha," he said, "this isn't a regular shard."  
  
Inu Yasha fumed. He sniffed at the shard as well, and realized that the kitsune was right. That bastard Michiyuki had set him up.   
  
"Inu Yasha?" Kagome appeared behind him, leaning over him, her chest providing his back with more warmth. He held in a shiver. "What is it?" she asked.  
  
The youkai held the shard between two claws. "A tracer. Michiyuki's had us bugged since we left his estate. And I was stupid enough to believe him."  
  
She hugged him from behind. "It's not your fault, you know...you couldn't have known about it." She was silent for a second. "For that matter, neither could I." Inu Yasha just shrugged.  
  
There was a rustling in the bushes behind them. Inu Yasha and Kagome shot up, and stared at the bushes. A black blur lunged out of the bushes at Kagome. She screamed, and fell to the ground. The panther beast straddled above Kagome, growling and bearing his fangs, eyes full of hatred and murder.  
  
Inu Yasha ran towards the beast, which instantly bore his fangs and growled, "I wouldn't come any closer if you value this human's life."  
  
Inu Yasha stopped dead in his tracks, surprised that the demon could talk. In his travels with Kagome, it was rare that they met a talking demon. "Who are you?"  
  
"The humans call me Muka."  
  
"What do you want with Kagome?"  
  
"I don't want the girl," he replied gruffly. "I've been ordered by Michiyuki to bring her back to the estate. But we could work a bargain." He snuffed. "I want the Shikon Jewel. I know you have part of it. I've heard Michiyuki talking about it. It made him powerful. I want that power."  
  
"What power?"  
  
"Illusion."  
  
"Illusion?" Inu Yasha gasped. "How many shards does he have?"  
  
"I don't know. At least two or three." Muka growled impatiently and bared his fangs close in front of Kagome's face. She squirmed in fear. Inu Yasha had to remind himself not to move. "Give me the jewel, human!" he roared.  
  
Kagome spoke softly and quietly. "I...I don't have it..."  
  
Muka roared loudly and brought his head right in Kagome's face. "What do you MEAN you don't have it?" he roared at her.  
  
"We lost it," Inu Yasha spoke up, an idea forming in his head.   
  
Muka looked up at the youkai, and bared his fangs once more. "Lost it?"  
  
"It was stolen. We have one shard recovered." Inu Yasha took the tracer from his pocket. "...This is it." He took a step towards the panther beast as non-threateningly as he could, holding up the shard: a white flag. "Give Kagome back to me...and you can have it."  
  
Muka growled softly, looked over the girl and the shard before finally replying, "Throw the shard over here."  
  
Inu Yasha did as much. The panther sniffed at it, then licked it up, and swallowed. He grinned evilly. "Yes...I can feel it...the power...seeping into my veins..." Muka growled with accomplishment, a sly grin spreading to his face. "I must take the shards from Michiyuki to add to my powers..." Muka ran off into the dark animosity of the forest.  
  
Inu Yasha rushed to Kagome. "Kagome..." he said in a reassuring voice.  
  
Kagome flung her arms around the youkai's neck. "I was...so scared..." she panted softly. "I thought...he was going to kill me...that I was going to die...before..."  
  
The sound of a throat clearing brought them from their repertoire. "Save it for someplace PRIVATE, you guys..." Shippo's voice sounded. "I'm still a KID for goodness sake." Inu Yasha bore his fangs at the kitsune, who instantly transformed into a pseudo-mouse and ran away.  
  
Inu Yasha helped Kagome to her feet and drew her into a hug. "I'll always protect you," he whispered into her hair. "I'll never let anything happen to you, ever again."  
  
Kagome hugged him tighter. I love you, her mind cried. Let me stay with you...like this...always...  
  
  
  
Hiroshi solemnly walked up to Michiyuki. "Sir," he said, "I believe we have some...trouble. The tracer...has been destroyed. We've been found out, sir."  
  
Michiyuki grinned. "No matter," he said. "I know where to find them."  
  
Hiroshi's eyes widened. "How do you know where the youkai and the girl are? The tracer...the tracer was destroyed."  
  
Michiyuki chuckled. "Hiroshi," he said simply, "you know my true nature, don't you?"  
  
Hiroshi nodded grimly. "Yes, sir. I do."  
  
"Do you know what that entails?"  
  
"No, sir."  
  
Michiyuki grinned smugly, and turned back toward the window. "Prepare for us to take a journey, Hiroshi."  
  
Hiroshi bowed slightly. "Yes, sir."  
  
  
  
"Kagome?" Inu Yasha's voice was quiet from outside her hut. "Kagome, are you there?"  
  
Kagome sat up from the bed on which she was laying and looked towards the door. "I'm here."  
  
There was a pause. Inu Yasha hadn't planned his impromptu visit; Kagome could tell.  
  
"Inu Yasha, what is it?" she pressed gently.  
  
Inu Yasha rubbed a hand through his hair. "Can...can I come in?"  
  
Kagome smiled. "Of course you can."  
  
A dark figure illuminated by the moonlight entered her hut. "Did I wake you?"  
  
Kagome shook her head, then remembered that it was pointless while sitting in the dark. "No."  
  
She could hear Inu Yasha's small sigh of relief. "That's good."  
  
"Inu Yasha, what's bothering you?"  
  
"I...I just wanted to make sure...that you were okay."  
  
Kagome was puzzled. "You mean...from this afternoon?"  
  
Inu Yasha nodded. "I...I could have gotten you killed, Kagome."  
  
Kagome made sure her voice was as soft and reassuring as she could make it. "Inu Yasha...there was nothing you could have done." She stood up from the bed and crossed over to him, slipping her arms around his back to connect at his stomach. "Absolutely nothing."  
  
She could feel his heavy sigh, before he finally turned around and embraced her lightly as well, staring into her eyes. "I couldn't protect you."  
  
"You can't always protect me, you know."  
  
"That doesn't stop me from trying."  
  
Kagome smiled sweetly. "You're stubborn that way."  
  
Inu Yasha scoffed slightly-Kagome assumed that it was a small laugh. Progress, she thought.  
  
"So please--" She hugged him even more tightly, resting her head on his chest. "-Don't blame yourself, okay?"  
  
There was a small grunt of acknowledgment.  
  
She smiled, and looked back onto his face. He brought a hand to her cheek and leaned down to kiss her. She let go of his waist and traced her hands up his back before lightly tangling them in his hair; pressing against him, deepening the kiss.  
  
Time froze...  
  
Kagome broke off the kiss suddenly and stared down at her feet, pressing her hands against his chest. "Inu Yasha...wait."  
  
"What is it?" he asked, confused.  
  
"I..." Kagome fell silent. "...I just don't know. I guess...I guess I'm feeling inadequate...about you and Kikyo...about us..."  
  
She could feel his chest heave and fall with his sigh. "Kagome..." he started, and stopped. What could he say that he hadn't already told her? Surely by now she would believe that she was the one who filled his thoughts and fashioned his dreams? Surely she would know how much he thought and cared for her?  
  
"Kagome," he began again, "...it's true that I cared for Kikyo. Deeply. It's true that at one point I was going to be human for her, and that we would live our lives together as a normal man and woman should. But when Naraku donned our appearance and turned us against another..." He balled a fist, squeezing his fingers in rage before finally dropping his arm forcefully to his side. "...And when I awoke once again...it was to her smell. I opened my eyes...and I saw you. And I admit that I was disappointed. And I was cold to you. I thought that you, Kikyo's reincarnation, could never be half the woman she was. Somewhere deep inside of me, I wanted you to fail and leave me." He shook his head. "No...it's more like I wanted you to fail and give your soul back to Kikyo. And when you finally DID...I was both angry and overjoyed. I finally had Kikyo back...but I didn't have you. That's when I realized that you were different than Kikyo. And I realized that Kikyo was not the woman she used to be. I saw both you and her as two different beings..." He brought his arms up to rest on her arms, squeezing lightly. "But you...You are the only one I see anymore, Kagome. It has gotten to the point where I am afraid to close my eyes for fear that you won't be there when I open them again. Kagome...you are the only one I WANT to see."  
  
Kagome tilted her head back to stare into his eyes. "Close your eyes," she said softly, after a long period of silence.  
  
"Kagome..."  
  
"Close them!" she insisted.  
  
Inu Yasha hesitantly closed his eyes, and Kagome could feel his body trembling in fear.  
  
She shrugged his hands off of her arms, and sat down on her bed. Inu Yasha's eyes flew open in fear when his mind registered that Kagome was no longer in physical contact. "Kagome?" he asked urgently.  
  
"I'm right here," she replied, and his gaze moved to her bed. Kagome opened her arms to him, and he walked into her embrace, falling to his knees and resting his head in her lap. "I'm right here," she repeated softly. "I still am.   
Nothing is going to change that. Inu Yasha...please don't be afraid for me...let me fear for myself as well."  
  
Inu Yasha's arms slid up to meet at her waist. "...I can't help it," he whispered. "I don't want to lose you like I lost Kikyo. I couldn't stand it again."  
  
Kagome stroked his hair. "You won't lose me. I'll always be here for you, Inu Yasha."  
  
The pair sat together throughout the night.  
  
  
  
Hiroshi scrambled through the woods, panting madly and clutching at a deep wound in his left arm.  
  
He's gone completely insane, he thought as he ran. Michiyuki...has gone insane.  
  
I have to find that demon...  
  
  
  
Kagome woke to hear the quiet chirping of birds. Morning...? peeped her still-asleep mind.  
  
Her awareness came suddenly when she realized that Inu Yasha was with her, head in her lap, sleeping soundly. She racked her mind quickly about how he had gotten there, and relaxed when she came up with the answer.  
  
She rested her hand softly on his head and lightly stroked his white hair. She wished that peaceful moments with Inu Yasha could last forever...  
  
But not with the rest of the Shikon still about...  
  
Inu Yasha stirred. "Mmmph," was his only comment to the sunshine pouring directly into his eyes.  
  
Kagome smiled. "Good morning."  
  
"G'morning..." Awarness hit him, and his head shot up. "Kagome?" he asked, nervously, and looked around him. "How did I...when did I--"  
  
"It's all right," she interjected. "You fell asleep in here. Nothing...happened. So don't worry."  
  
He raised an eyebrow at her before finally giving in. He stood up and brushed himself off, and proffered his hand to Kagome. She took it, and he hoisted her to her feet.  
  
"Morning," he said again, and kissed her on the tip of her nose. Kagome felt her cheeks flush with color.  
  
"Youkai!" came the call from far outside of Kagome's hut. "YOUKAI!"  
  
Inu Yasha's ears pricked up. Kagome came up behind him. "What is it?" she asked.  
  
He turned to face her. "Someone is calling me. It sounds...it sounds like Hiroshi."  
  
"I'm going with you."  
  
Inu Yasha grasped Kagome's shoulders. "Stay here. He's probably here to take you back to Michiyuki."  
  
Kagome trembled. She did not come this far just to lose her memory again.  
  
"I'll tell Shippo to come in and protect you," Inu Yasha said. "Although knowing that kitsune..." he mumbled as an afterthought, and smiled. "I'll be fine, and back before you know it." He kissed her quickly and ran out of the hut.  
  
"Inu Yasha..." Kagome said quietly, staring at the door and clutching a hand to her heart. Be careful...  
  
  
  
Inu Yasha ran swiftly through the woods and came upon a small clearing.  
  
His suspicions were confirmed: before him stood the man who had been an accomplice in Kagome's kidnapping,   
Shinya Hiroshi.  
  
"Youkai..." Hiroshi said, surprised. "You've actually come."  
  
"I ought to kill you where you stand," Inu Yasha huffed. "For what you did to Kagome."  
  
"Please," Hiroshi said pitifully, clutching a makeshift poor bandage on his arm. "Listen to me...Michiyuki...has gone insane..." He was sweating profusely; the side effects of a fever. He suddenly convulsed, clutched his stomach in pain, doubled over and fell to the ground, unconscious.  
  
Inu Yasha snorted with displeasure. "Fool," he sniffed. "I'll still kill you. I don't care what you wanted to tell me."  
  
"Inu Yasha!" came Kagome's cry.  
  
He whipped around to find Kagome standing behind him, huffing for her breath. She followed me the entire way here...at THAT speed? his mind marveled. Kagome truly was a force to be reckoned with--she wasn't as frail or weak as she looked.  
  
"Don't...kill him..." she puffed.  
  
"Why not? He hurt you, Kagome."  
  
"He felt sorry for me," she insisted. "He took care of me when Michiyuki left me in the dungeon. I remember..." She winced at the thought of her captivity. "Don't kill him...let him talk."  
  
Inu Yasha groaned. Kagome walked over to the fallen man and felt his neck. "He's still alive, at least..." She felt his forehead. "But he's got a terrible fever! We have to treat him!"  
  
Inu Yasha snuffed. "YOU take care of him."  
  
Kagome looked at Inu Yasha expectantly; and when he didn't make a move to help her, she proceeded to hoist the sick man over her back and slowly make her way to the edge of the clearing.  
  
"What...what are you doing, Kagome?" Inu Yasha asked, surprised.  
  
"What does it LOOK like I'm doing? I'm moving him to Kaede so we can treat him," she responded slowly, gasping for air. He's so heavy...  
  
Inu Yasha crossed his arms and looked at Kagome in amusement, chuckling to himself. Finally, he moved and lifted Hiroshi off of Kagome's back. "Admirable," he mused, before walking ahead of her into the forest.  
  
Kagome simply smiled before following him back.  
  
  
  
"Mr. Hiroshi..." Kagome's voice called. He felt her shaking, and slowly opened his eyes. The world was blurry; the world was clear. He squinted as the light poured into his eyes. Kagome smiled. "You're awake!"  
  
"What...happened?" Hiroshi coughed violently and gasped for breath before regaining himself completely.  
  
"You collapsed. We found you and took care of you."  
  
Inu Yasha was leaning against a wall, glaring at the sick man. "Feh," he sneered. "I still don't like it."  
  
Kagome turned her head to Inu Yasha. "What did he say to you before he collapsed?" she asked.  
  
"Something about Michiyuki...I wasn't paying attention." He waved it off with a move of his hand.  
  
"Michiyuki..." Hiroshi mumbled.   
  
Kagome turned her gaze back to him. "...Michiyuki...?" she prodded.  
  
"Michiyuki...has gone insane..." His arm moved instinctively towards his wound, and found that it was properly and neatly bandaged.  
  
Kaede entered the hut with a small jug of water. "How is he doing?" she asked.  
  
Kagome turned to the old woman and smiled. "Better, I think," she replied.  
  
Kaede moved to Hiroshi and handed him the jug. "Water," she stated.  
  
Hiroshi looked to Kaede and Kagome, and then to the jug. "...Thank you," he finally said, and drank some of the water.  
  
Inu Yasha slammed a fist against the wall. "I don't like this!" he yelled. "Why are we being so nice to him? Kagome, don't you remember what he did to you?"  
  
"You shouldn't judge a man who was simply following orders," Kaede stated, and placed a cold cloth on the ailing man's forehead.  
  
"...Please," Hiroshi managed. "Please listen to me."  
  
Kagome turned her attention back to Hiroshi. "I'm listening."  
  
"Michiyuki...was wrong. I believed him...I was foolish. His intentions...are not mine. That's why...he wants the Shikon..."  
  
"And that's why you took me?" Kagome asked.  
  
Hiroshi nodded. "We thought the Shikon was with you...and when we learned that the youkai was looking for you...we panicked. We thought that he was going to kill us when you called for him...so we manipulated your memories. I realized that what we were doing was wrong...and little by little I've been defying him." His hand moved to his injury. "But...when I confronted him about it...he lashed out at me with a blade...and I ran. I had to find you and the youkai...to warn you."  
  
"Warn us about what?"  
  
"Michiyuki...will go to any means necessary to get the Shikon...and if that means your slaughter, then he will do it."  
  
"Why are you telling us this?" Kagome asked.  
  
"I...didn't want to see you get hurt. Not anymore. When you were in fevered sleep while the memory drug was taking effect, you kept calling for the youkai. I felt sorry for you. I realize now that you reminded me of myself. I felt completely helpless while under the servitude of Michiyuki...but after a while I came to suppress my thoughts and move on with my duty..." He took another sip of water. "That is why I was gathering him Shikon shards. He kept telling me to gather the jewel."  
  
"But why would he want the Shikon?"  
  
"He wishes to become more powerful."  
  
Inu Yasha sneered. "It wouldn't work on a mere powerless human."  
  
"But Michiyuki..." Hiroshi replied softly, "...isn't human..."  
  
Inu Yasha gaped. "What do you MEAN he's not human?!" he demanded.  
  
Hiroshi shook his head. "I...don't know. I just know that he's not human."  
  
"How did you know?"  
  
"Because...I saw him use his powers," Hiroshi replied softly. "He told me one day that he could make illusions...and I didn't believe him." He turned to Kagome. "It's how you were tricked, young girl. By illusion. With that kitsune head and the dead youkai..." He turned back to Inu Yasha, studying him. "I wonder how this girl figured out that you weren't the one with her..."  
  
"It's nothing," Inu Yasha gruffed quickly.   
  
Hiroshi was silent for some time before speaking. "Michiyuki...has two Shikon shards in his hand...and possesses several more...I believe that over the time together I gathered about seven for him."  
  
"Nine shards..." Inu Yasha mused. "Has he fused them into his body yet?"  
  
Hiroshi shook his head. "Only the two in his hand. He can't fuse the other seven. He needs the entire jewel to do that."  
  
Inu Yasha let out a small sigh of relief. "Then he's not as powerful as he could be. That's good to know..." He spared a quick glance at Kagome before turning back to Hiroshi. "Where are the other shards?"  
  
Hiroshi pulled out a small leather bag from his pants. "Here."  
  
Inu Yasha's eyes widened with desire and he lunged for the shards.  
  
"Inu Yasha!" Kagome yelled, with a twitch in her eye.  
  
Inu Yasha's head whipped towards her while he flew through the air. "No...Kagome...not--"  
  
"SIT!"  
  
Inu Yasha fell onto Hiroshi's lap with his full weight. Thus was the almighty power of "sit". He raised his head painfully. "I really wish you wouldn't do that..." he mumbled, snatching the shards from Hiroshi as an afterthought.  
  
He tossed the shards to Kagome. "Look at them. Are they real?" he asked, rubbing a newfound bump on his head.  
  
Kagome opened the bag warily, and poured them onto the edge of Michiyuki's blanket. "They look real," she started, and picked one up. Inu Yasha watched as it purified between her fingers. She nodded. "They're real."  
  
"Add them with the rest."  
  
Kagome nodded, and set about her task.  
  
Inu Yasha stood up and paced the room. Finally, he turned back to Hiroshi. "You said he isn't human?" He waited for Hiroshi's affirmative nod. He stared at a point in front of him. "That makes him part demon, at the very least..."  
  
"Why take the pretense of being human?" Kagome piped up.  
  
Hiroshi and Inu Yasha looked at her in surprise. "What?" Hiroshi asked.  
  
She stood up and wiped her hands, and tucked the newly-purified shards into a pocket in her uniform. "Why pretend to be human when he isn't? Is there something that he knows he cannot get in his demon form? And why go to all the trouble to kidnap me, then erase my memory when he knew I didn't have the shards? Why erase my entire memory?" Kagome nodded to the two men. "I think that I found him out when I was in that dungeon, and he was scared."  
  
"Quite right," came the chuckled voice from outside the hut. The door flew open and Kenji Michiyuki entered, grinning evilly.  
  
He snatched Kagome and held a dagger to her throat. "You're very good, young girl." He sniffed at Kagome's hair and grinned at Inu Yasha. "I will say one thing, youkai: you know how to pick your mates."  
  
"BASTARD!" Inu Yasha roared, flexing his claws and rushing towards him.  
  
"ONE MORE MOVE," Michiyuki yelled, "and the girl dies." He shoved the dagger point deeper into her flesh to convey his message. Inu Yasha held back.  
  
"Move back," Michiyuki ordered.  
  
Inu Yasha did so.  
  
"I'm surprised that you regained your memory so quickly. The drug I gave you was so potent as to be potentially lethal. Most people who take it never regain their memories back, and those who are able to regain memories take upwards of twenty years to remember something highly significant. I applaud your willingness to respond to outside stimuli."  
  
"...Why...?" Kagome managed. Her face contorted in pain as she spoke, realizing that every move of her throat resulted in the dagger tip pushing that much more into her throat.  
  
Inu Yasha held up a hand. "Please..." he pleaded, "...ease up on Kagome. She's in pain..."  
  
Michiyuki raised an eyebrow at the youkai, then looked down at Kagome's face. He pulled her head back by her hair. "I warn you," he hissed into her ear, "if you try ANYTHING, I won't hesitate to kill you. You are useless to me."  
  
Kagome let her eyes affirm. Michiyuki let go of her hair and let up on the dagger point and Kagome gasped for air.  
  
Michiyuki grinned at Inu Yasha. "Would you like to see her before I kill her, youkai?"  
  
Hiroshi made his way to his feet and stood behind Inu Yasha, leaning on the youkai's shoulder to help him stand. "Kenji..." he said slowly, "...there's no reason to slaughter that girl..."  
  
Michiyuki shook his head in disbelief. "She has the Shikon jewel, Hiroshi. I figure that gives me perfect reason to kill her."  
  
"...I've got the shards we gathered...don't you want those?"  
  
Michiyuki glared at his former assistant before finally relenting. "Give them to me." He relaxed his grip on Kagome, and moved the dagger to rest at her back rather than her throat. Kagome brought her arms up to cup her throat, while Inu Yasha heaved a sigh of partial relief.   
  
Hiroshi moved cautiously towards Michiyuki and his hostage, holding his hands up in front of his chest. He stopped when he reached Kagome, who stared into his eyes questioningly.  
  
"I'm...sorry it had to happen like this..." Hiroshi stated, putting a hand on her shoulder. Suddenly, and without warning, he shoved Kagome to the ground away from Michiyuki, who instantly shoved the dagger into his chest.  
  
Inu Yasha, seeing that Kagome was out of danger, lunged towards Michiyuki and slit him in half with his claws.  
  
Kagome pushed herself up, one hand still rubbing her throat, and stared at the fallen Hiroshi. "Is he...dead?" she asked softly.  
  
Inu Yasha reached down to check the man's pulse, then walked to join Kagome. He nodded. "Yes, he is." He kneeled down in front of her and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Are you all right, Kagome?"  
  
Kagome stared at Hiroshi for a moment longer, then brought fear struck eyes to meet Inu Yasha's, before finally nodding. "I think so."  
  
Evil laughter filled the room.  
  
"Hiroshi...was a simpleton," Michiyuki's voice rang.  
  
Inu Yasha flug his arm across Kagome, hiding her behind him, and looked around the room. "Michiyuki!" he roared. "Where are you?!"  
  
"I'm right here," the voice chuckled from several different directions.  
  
Another Michiyuki phased in behind the corpse of the late-Michiyuki. It stared at the body. "Pity," it remarked, and stared at the youkai and girl and grinned.  
  
"Yes, a pity," came another Michiyuki from across the room.  
  
Several more Michiyukis appeared, encircling Inu Yasha and Kagome. Both of them stood up warily, and Inu Yasha pressed Kagome closer to him. "Stay close," he warned her, his hand hovering above the hilt of the Tetsusaiga.  
  
All twelve Michiyukis laughed. "How will you know which one of us is real?" they all asked in unison.  
  
Inu Yasha gritted his teeth and drew the transformed Tetsusaiga. "I'll kill you all!" he screamed, and rushed towards the laughing men, striking them down as he moved. However, when one Michiyuki fell, two more took its place.  
  
"INU YASHA!" Shippo screamed from outside, coming to the youkai's aid. "Michiyuki is--" He entered the hut and saw the raging fight going on. He scrambled over to Kagome, and jumped into her arms.  
  
"SHIPPO!" Inu Yasha yelled, blocking a dagger strike from one of the Michiyukis, "get Kagome out of here!" He cried in pain as another Michiyuki succeeded in cutting him with a dagger. He sliced into both of them.  
  
Kagome and Shippo ran past the Michiyukis and outside of the hut, into the front part of the forest nearby. Kagome put down the kitsune and gasped for breath. "How...how can we help him, Shippo?" she asked.  
  
"Kagome...Michiyuki...is not normal...he isn't a normal demon...he's..."  
  
He stopped when he realized that she wasn't listening. She left him screaming "I want to help Inu Yasha!", running back towards the hut.  
  
"KAGOME!" Shippo yelled, scampering after her. "Wait! Michiyuki is-!" Shippo realized that she was too far to listen, and simply ran after her on tired paws.  
  
Kagome burst back into the hut and ran to a bleeding Inu Yasha. "What are you doing?!" he yelled, slaying another Michiyuki.  
  
"I'm...I'm staying with you!" she answered back, just as forcefully.  
  
Inu Yasha growled in frustration. "You're a stupid girl," he murmured, bringing his blade to the defense.  
  
Kagome pressed into him tighter. "I'm here to help you," she replied.  
  
All of the Michiyukis chuckled. "I tire of this play time, youkai," they said simultaneously. "It is time for you to die."  
  
"Kagome!" Inu Yasha whispered. "Find the one with the Shikon shard!"  
  
Kagome nodded, and frantically searched for the familiar gleam. "It's no good!" she yelled. "They all have Shikon power in them!"   
  
One of the Michiyukis near them grinned and kicked Inu Yasha, stealing the Tetsusaiga from him. He grinned at the youkai. "Die," he simply stated, and raised his dagger above him.  
  
Shippo burst into the hut and pointed to a Michiyuki. "It's that one!" he yelled.  
  
The Michiyukis' eyes widened in terror and all looked towards the kitsune. "Be quiet, pup!" they all yelled, and the one closest kicked Shippo towards Inu Yasha and Kagome. "Die with them!"  
  
Shippo stood up and pointed to the same Michiyuki. "It's you!" he screamed. "You're the real Michiyuki!" He turned to Inu Yasha. "Hit that one and the others will disappear!"  
  
Inu Yasha nodded, a little stunned, but ran up and punched Shippo's Michiyuki. Instantly, all of the others faded and the injured one brought a hand to his cheek in reflex. Inu Yasha ran back towards Kagome and picked up the Tetsusaiga, holding it defensively against Michiyuki.  
  
Michiyuki glared at the kitsune. "I did not count on you interfering," he threatened, and chuckled. "Most interesting." He held up his dagger hand, the Shikon shards within gleaming in the light. "Well, then. You shall be the first to die." He lunged for the kitsune.  
  
Inu Yasha reacted, and sliced through Michiyuki's hand with the Tetsusaiga.  
  
"NO!" Michiyuki screamed, falling to the ground and bringing his other hand to cover his missing limb. "No...not now..." he moaned, as clouds started to surround him and slowly shift his form.  
  
The girl, kitsune, and youkai could only gasp at what they saw.  
  
Kenji Michiyuki, the demon illusionist...was a kitsune.  
  
"You were...a kitsune?" Kagome finally asked, bewildered.  
  
"Feh," Inu Yasha snorted in disgust. "All this trouble for just an ordinary kitsune."   
  
Michiyuki slowly made his way to his feet, still holding his severed limb tightly in a vain attempt to stop the bleeding. He bared his teeth. "I am not," he hissed, "'just an ordinary kitsune.'"  
  
"How so?" Shippo tossed.  
  
Michiyuki grinned at Shippo. "Surely you would know that fully-grown kitsune can reach powers far beyond those of normal youkai."  
  
Shippo nodded hesitantly.  
  
Michiyuki chuckled. "I happen to be over nine hundred years old. Does that constitute my being full-grown?" He grinned. "I think so." With his good hand, he shot a blast of fire at Inu Yasha. "DIE!" he screamed.  
  
Inu Yasha dodged quickly, landing on the ground with full force. He recovered quickly and turned back to his opponent. "Are you insane?!" he shot at Michiyuki.  
  
Michiyuki's eyes widened, and whatever was left of his sanity was nowhere to be found. He had the appearance of something possessed so completely that he was driven to madness by desires he could not possibly comprehend.  
  
His crazed sight turned to the small kitsune cowering in the corner. Michiyuki dashed over to Shippo and picked him up by the scruff of his neck and held up a sharp claw to his gut. "You shall be the first to die," he said menacingly. "I believe that's what I told you, at least."  
  
"STOP IT!" Kagome screamed.  
  
Michiyuki glared at her. "Get out of my way, girl. This does not concern you yet."  
  
"Why do you want to kill Shippo so badly?"  
  
Michiyuki laughed. "Isn't it obvious?" he asked, and shook the kitsune. "This little shit can track me down in an instant. How do you think I found you all? Because of him. Kitsune can track the scents of other kitsune. So while he was trying to hide you, he ended up exposing you all." He laughed again, and moved his thumbs to cover the kitsune's throat. "In a way, I think that I'm doing you all a favor by getting rid of this wretch." He started to squeeze.  
  
"STOP IT!" Kagome screamed again. "Stop...Shippo..." She started to cry.  
  
"You really make me sick," Inu Yasha stated, standing and picking up the fallen Tetsusaiga. "To slaughter an innocent of your own race..."  
  
"Don't make me laugh, youkai. I am far superior to any 'normal' kitsune you could name. This child...this weakling..." he shook Shippo, "...is not of my race. I intend to build a new race of demon--one with superior powers. I need the Shikon to help me achieve this vision." His gaze fell to Kagome. "Give me the jewel...and the brat will live." He held Shippo out tightly by his throat with one hand.  
  
Shippo clawed at Michiyuki's hand, and forced his eyes to meet Kagome's. "Kagome...don't..." His eyes closed again.  
  
Kagome stood up slowly and held out the bag containing the parts of the Shikon that they had gathered.  
  
"If I gave these to you," she said slowly, "would you let him go?"  
  
Michiyuki laughed. "Of course I would."  
  
"Don't trust him, Kagome!" Inu Yasha yelled. "He'll kill Shippo without thinking twice!"  
  
"Inu Yasha!" Kagome yelled, and tossed the Shikon bag at Michiyuki. The grown kitsune dropped Shippo and opened his arms to receive the bag. Inu Yasha rushed at him and threw his body to knock them both down.  
  
The kitsune and the youkai struggled on the ground, neither one gaining an advantage. Bodies were bitten, punches were traded. Finally, Michiyuki called on a fireball while in contact with Inu Yasha's skin, buring part of the youkai to the point of temporary immobility.  
  
Michiyuki made his way to his feet and wiped a small stream of blood from the corner of his mouth. "If you won't die so easily, youkai," Michiyuki said through gritted teeth, staring at the recovering Inu Yasha, "then I can at least kill your woman." He quickly unsheathed his knife and threw it at Kagome.  
  
"KAGOME!" Inu Yasha yelled, running to her and pushing her out of the way of the weapon. His body tensed and he fell with her.  
  
"Inu...Inu Yasha..." Kagome gasped in awe. As they fell to the floor, her reflexes kicked in and she brought her arms around to hold on to him.  
  
She encountered the hilt of the knife.  
  
"INU YASHA!" she screamed, moving so she could see the extent of the damage. "INU YASHA!" She removed the knife from his side, and held a hand over his wound to stop the bleeding. She checked his pulse--he was still alive, but he couldn't survive this battle any more.  
  
How are we going to get out of this? Kagome thought. Her eyes fell on the still-transformed Tetsusaiga. I...could I use it? But then... she stared back down at Inu Yasha. ...He would be in trouble...  
  
If I die, I want to die with him...  
  
"MICHIYUKI!" A voice suddenly roared.  
  
"...Now what?" Michiyuki murmured. "More annoyances?" He turned towards the door.  
  
A dark figure stood in the doorway. "I've been looking for you, human." A pause, the sound of sniffing, and a growl. "...Kitsune. I should have known."  
  
Michiyuki peered at the darkness. "Who calls me?"  
  
The figure moved into the light. "We were allies, once," the panther said. "I was sent to kill the girl." Muka moved towards the shocked Kagome and the injured youkai. He sniffed at Kagome and Inu Yasha, and made a sound that resembled a purr of reassurance.   
  
"Don't worry," he said softly to Kagome, "It will be over soon."  
  
Muka turned back to Michiyuki. "No one may possess the Shikon. It proves to be too dangerous for anyone to handle. I've learned, Michiyuki. I once thirsted for the power of the Shikon and thought I had it. This girl..." He shook his head in disbelief, remembering their encounter. "...This girl proved to be sharp-witted. She knew that the Shikon, if in the hands of any magical creature...could be fatal. You will destroy yourself, Michiyuki, and everything around you." He bore his teeth. "Is your thirst for power so grand that you would destroy that which you are trying to rule?"  
  
Michiyuki stopped in shock, and thought about the panther's words. Finally, he drew his head up with a new resolve. "YOU'RE LYING!" he screamed, and charged at the panther with a fireball ready to strike.  
  
Muka lunged at the kitsune and parried the attack, and both recovered from their blows and lunged at each other again.  
  
"Ka...go...me..." Shippo's voice was weak. The kitsune slowly made his way his feet. "I...nu...Yasha..." He stared at the crying girl and the injured youkai, and looked at the battle in front of him. "Everyone..." He slowly raised his hands. "FOXFIRE!" he yelled, and turned into vines and bound himself around Michiyuki's arms and legs.  
  
"What...what are you doing?!" Michiyuki yelled, as his limbs were constricted to the wall of the hut.  
  
I'm...saving everyone... Shippo's voice said in his head.  
  
Michiyuki's eyes widened. This...child... he thought, and felt the panther's fangs sink into his neck. Soon after there was the sickening crack of bones.  
  
Michiyuki, the Shikon-hungry kitsune, was truly dead.  
  
Shippo reverted back to kitsune form and scrambled over to Kagome. "Kagome..." he cried. "I'm so glad you're all right..."  
  
Kagome nodded. "Shippo," she said softly, making her way to her feet, "look after Inu Yasha..."  
  
Kagome walked over to Muka, who was ingesting the heart of the dead kitsune.  
  
"Why...did you save us?"  
  
"I recognized you, maiden," the panther-demon replied. "I knew from the first time I saw you that you were indeed the maiden who was sent here to purify the Shikon jewel. Michiyuki was the quickest way to find the jewel." He snuffed lightly at the corpse in front of him. "It was an act. I wasn't going to kill you. I just wanted the Shikon so nothing else could use its power. And then I recognized your identity...and realized that it was my duty to keep you alive."  
  
"And Inu Yasha?"  
  
"You are the fate that he has been given. Now is a crucial moment for him." Muka picked up the Shikon bag with his teeth and gave it to Kagome before moving to the youkai. "Now is when he decides whether or not he will accept his fate and fight on with you. Death...would be the easier choice." Muka bent his head towards Inu Yasha. "Well, young one?" he asked. "Which shall you choose? Life...or death?"  
  
Kagome kneeled by Inu Yasha and lightly grasped his hand.  
  
Inu Yasha's eyes squinted together in pain and he thrashed about, letting out suffering groans every now and then. He finally let out a panting sigh, his hand went limp in hers, and he moved no more.  
  
"Inu Yasha..." Kagome gasped quietly. She put her hand on his heart and checked for a pulse. "...No..."  
  
Shippo's eyes widened and tears began to build. "You stupid idiot!" he screamed, scratching at Inu Yasha. "You can't die on us!"  
  
Muka bent his head. "It was his choice, maiden. There was nothing you could have done."  
  
"No..." Kagome said, just as softly, still refusing to believe in the youkai's death. "Inu...Yasha..." She slowly made her way to her feet and started to walk towards the door. Muka nudged his head under her hand, offering support as best he could.  
  
"Come on...Shippo..." Kagome said quietly, monotonously. The spark within her seemed to have died--what once used to be Kagome, the cheery girl from Tokyo, was now Kagome, the girl who had no emotions left in her hollow shell. The three of them made their way to the door of the hut.  
  
A soft moan made the three turn around towards the youkai's corpse.  
  
"Ka...go...me..." came the nearly inaudible voice.  
  
"Inu Yasha...?" Kagome inquired quietly, tears forming at her eyes.  
  
"Can't be..." Muka mused. "Could he really have escaped death?"  
  
"Why...are you leaving...Kagome?" Inu Yasha's voice sounded slowly.  
  
Kagome rushed to the youkai and fell to her feet, grabbing his hand and crying over it. "Inu Yasha...Inu Yasha...thank god..." she sobbed. "I thought...I thought you had left me..."  
  
"Never..." Inu Yasha's hand lightly clasped hers.  
  
Muka approached the reunited companions. "Youkai," he said, bowing slightly, "I applaud you in your everlasting quest to keep the priestess of the jewel safe. But beware: you will soon fight a battle during which you will lose something so precious that it is irreplaceable."  
  
Inu Yasha's ears pricked up. "Irreplaceable? What...?"  
  
Muka donned the panther equivalent of a smile. "It does not matter now. But I will return for you before the battle. This I promise." And with that, he turned tail and left the youkai, kistune, and human girl.  
  
"Loss..." Kagome shook her head. "I've lost so much lately...I don't want to lose anything anymore..."  
  
Inu Yasha smiled and brought a hand to her cheek. "Don't worry..." he said. "I'll be right here with you. I'll always protect you...so please...stay with me..."  
  
Kagome nodded, the tears of joy in her eyes finally falling. "I'll always stay by your side..."  
  
Inu Yasha and Kagome shared a soft, sweet kiss.   
  
Both of their minds reminded them that there was soon to be a battle with high sacrifices.  
  
But for them, for now, it didn't seem to matter.  
  
Now that they had one another at last.  
  
  
~End~  
  
  
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Well, I have a sequel in mind, but only if people take this one well enough. And to answer a pending question: no, the irreplaceable thing will NOT be Inu Yasha's youkai blood. And in the original version of this story, Michiyuki actually killed Shippo, whose spirit held back Michiyuki until Inu Yasha could slay him. It stayed that way until the end, when I decided that since I was so new on fanfiction.net and had not gained enough respect that I could not write the story that way. So the kitsune lived. Was it the right decision? I'm still not sure. I can truly see the story branching either way at that point. And I am well aware that the ending was cliched, so don't worry. ^_^  



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